|
Income Tax Appellate Tribunal, Mumbai
Benches, Mumbai
Guidelines for the Stay Petitions filed before the Income Tax Appellate
Tribunal
The guidelines were framed at the meeting held on 3rd April, 2007
Present in the meeting:
Shri G. E. Veerabhadrappa (VP), Shri K.P.T. Thangal (VP), Shri K. C. Singhal
(JM)
Representatives from the Department
Shri L. Nampui, Chief Commissioner of Income-tax, Mumbai
Shri S. C. Gupta, CIT (DR)
Shri M. P. Varshney, CIT (Judicial), Mumbai.
Representatives from the ITAT Bar Association
Shri S. E. Dastur, President, ITAT Bar Association
Shri Y. P. Trivedi, Shri K. Shivaram, Shri Vipul Joshi
- The stay petitions filed up to Wednesday of
a week will be listed on the Friday of the very same week. The Registry or the
Bench will henceforth not insist on the rejection letter either from the
Assessing Officer or the CIT for registering or hearing the stay petitions.
- The fact that the assessee has moved a stay
petition before the Tribunal should be intimated to the Assessing/Recovery
Officer concerned by the assessee and also bring to the notice of the
Assessing Officer the decision of the Bombay High Court in the case of
Mahindra & Mahindra (1992) 59 ELT 505 and request the Assessing Officer not to
enforce the recovery during the pendency of the stay petition.
- The Assessing Officer is bound to follow the
decision of the Bombay High Court in the case of Mahindra & Mahindra (1992) 59
ELT 505 in its letter and spirit and any contravention thereof can only be
challenged before the Hon’ble High Court.
- If any coercive steps for recovery have
already been taken by the Assessing/Recovery Officer, the same should be
mentioned by way of application to the Vice-President or in the Bench where
the Vice-President is sitting; if none of the Vice Presidents are sitting on
the Bench then the urgent motion shall be placed before the Bench in which the
senior most Member, ITAT, Mumbai Benches, is constituted, who shall pass such
orders as the Bench may deem fit in the circumstances. The assessee who wants
to make urgent motion in the aforesaid manner should invariably bring it to
the notice of the Departmental Representative of the concerned Bench before
the start of the Bench so that the department can effectively represent their
views on the urgent motion.
- The Departmental Representatives being the
officers of the court shall intimate the proceedings in the Court to the
Assessing Officer/Recovery Officer concerned so that they can follow these
directions as if they are written orders of the Bench.
- No recovery should be done either by the
Assessing/Recovery Officer in violation of the interim orders or oral
direction of the Bench communicated by the Departmental Representative till
the disposal of the stay petition.
- If the interest of the revenue is
jeopardized, if recovery proceedings are being interfered with by the ITAT,
the Departmental Representative should mention it to the Bench before the
interim orders are passed or the directions are given in the case.
The above guidelines will be strictly followed in the matters relating to the
stay petition filed in Mumbai Benches. These guidelines are framed keeping in
view the decisions of the Bombay High Court in the case of Mahindra & Mahindra
(1992) 59 ELT 505 and other decisions just to avoid friction between the
assessee and the departmental authorities in the matters relating to recovery
of the demand involved in the stay petitions. These guidelines were framed at
the meeting conveyed by the Vice-President (M) with the representatives of the
Bar Association, the Chief Commissioner of Income-tax, the CCIT concerned with
the recovery of taxes and the senior departmental representatives. It is
expected that the CCIT and CIT (DRs) will do everything at their command so as
to avoid the friction in the judicial functions of the Tribunal.
G. E. Veerabhadrappa
Vice President
|