2015 (12) TMI 1777 - AT - Income Tax

Maintainability of appeal - tax effect - Held that - On hearing the Ld. Departmental Representative we find that the tax effect in these cases is less than Rs. 10 lakhs. The CBDT in its Circular No.21/2015 dated 10.12.2015 instructed its officers to withdraw all the appeals pending before the ITAT where the tax effect is less than Rs. 10 lakhs. This Tribunal is of the considered opinion that this Circular of CBDT is binding on the officers of the Department. Therefore the Revenue cannot proceed further in these appeals. Accordingly these appeals stand dismissed. - Decided against revenue.

Summary

Issues Involved:
Appeals by Revenue against orders of Commissioner of Income Tax (Appeals) for various assessees with tax effect less than Rs. 10 lakhs.

Analysis:
The judgment pertains to multiple appeals by the Revenue against orders of the Commissioner of Income Tax (Appeals) for various assessees. The key issue in these appeals was the tax effect, which was found to be less than Rs. 10 lakhs in all cases. The Tribunal referred to Circular No.21/2015 dated 10.12.2015 issued by the CBDT, which directed officers to withdraw appeals where the tax effect is below the specified threshold. The Tribunal acknowledged the binding nature of this circular on the Department's officers, leading to the dismissal of all appeals by the Revenue.

The Tribunal emphasized that the Circular issued by the CBDT regarding the tax effect threshold of less than Rs. 10 lakhs was a decisive factor in the dismissal of the appeals. By recognizing the mandatory nature of the Circular, the Tribunal concluded that the Revenue could not proceed with the appeals due to the prescribed limit. Consequently, all appeals by the Revenue were dismissed, and the cross objections were also dismissed in line with the decision on the appeals. The judgment was pronounced openly on 28th December 2015 in Chennai, bringing closure to the legal proceedings for the concerned cases.