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2016 (4) TMI 375 - AT - Income TaxAgricultural land - CIT(A) held that the agricultural land which is within 8 Kms from municipal limits is not a capital asset - Held that:- CIT(Appeals) has grossly erred in ignoring all those facts and adopted a contrary view, that too by taking a ‘turtle turn’ simply on the pretext that the case laws of higher forum were binding upon him. It is a well established law that an appeal is to be decided on it’s own facts as available on record. In this appeal it is evident from the paragraphs, reproduced above, that although the facts of this case were found to be not matching with the facts of certain precedents cited, but still Ld CIT(A) had decided not only to follow but to apply the view taken in those cited cases so as to give relief on the pretext that those case-laws being pronounced by the higher forum hence binding upon him. It is an incorrect way of following or applying a precedent. Law does not permit to blindly follow a Precedent. On one hand learned CIT(Appeals) has given a finding on certain facts that there were number of real estate projects in that area and that there was International Cricket Stadium located very near to the said land , therefore, in the absence of any agricultural activity it was a ‘capital asset’ for the purpose of levying tax as per the provisions of Income-tax Act, it is very strange that even after recording of those facts of the case, the learned CIT(Appeals) has taken a view that because few decisions of the Tribunal and the High Courts have taken a view that distance is to be measured through approach road and not by straight line distance, therefore, the land in question was exempt from the tax. Such an order of an Appellate Authority cannot be approved.Therefore, we deem it proper to restore the issue back to him with a direction to provide a reasonable opportunity of hearing to both the sides - Decided in favour of revenue for statistical purposes
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