TMI Blog2022 (9) TMI 1444X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... appeal. This Court has no jurisdiction and it is open to the appellant to work out its remedy before the High Court at Calcutta and get the issue redressed. - THE HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE S. VAIDYANATHAN AND THE HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE C. SARAVANAN For the Appellant : Mr. R. Karthik JUDGMENT The present appeal has been preferred as against the order passed by the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal 'B' Bench, Kolkata in ITA No. 400/KOL/2018 dated 05.02.2020 by which the Tribunal allowed the appeal filed by the assessee besides quashing the assessment order dated 24.03.2014 passed by the Assessing Officer, ITO Ward-1(4), Kolkata. Aggrieved by the said order, the present appeal has been filed contending that it is maint ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... bunal, Kolkata contending that the assessing officer has no jurisdiction to complete the assessment since the jurisdiction over the assessee was duly transferred to ACIT, Central Circle-2(3), Chennai on 15.03.2013, even before the assessment order came to be passed. By the impugned order, the assessee's appeal came to be allowed giving rise to the present tax case appeal. 3. According to the appellant herein, the jurisdiction aspect was not questioned by the assessee. However, the Tribunal passed an order on 05.02.2020 allowing the appeal filed by the assessee holding that the authority has no jurisdiction. According to the Tribunal, by the time second assessment order was passed, the matter had been transferred from Kolkata to Chenn ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ng on subordinate courts as well as tribunals operating within its territorial jurisdiction. It is for this very reason that the Assessing Officer, Commissioner of Appeals and the ITAT operate under the concerned High Court as one unit, for consistency and systematic development of the law. It is also important to note that the decisions of the High Court in whose jurisdiction the transferee Assessing Officer is situated do not bind the Authorities or the ITAT which had passed orders before the transfer of the case has taken place. This creates an anomalous situation, as the erroneous principle adopted by the authority or the ITAT, even if corrected by the High Court outside its jurisdiction, would not be binding on them. 35. The legal s ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... late scrutiny, this Court for larger reasons would avoid an interpretation that would render the appellate jurisdiction of a High Court dependent upon the executive power. As a matter of principle, transfer of a case from one judicial forum to another judicial forum without the intervention of a Court of law is against the independence of judiciary. This is true, particularly, when such a transfer can occur in exercise of pure executive power. This is yet another reason for rejecting the interpretation adopted in the case of Sahara. 37. For the reasons stated above, we hold that the decision of the High Court of Delhi in Sahara and Aar Bee do not lay down the correct law and therefore, we overrule these judgments. 38. In conclusion, w ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... tions were made stating that the appeals could be filed in the High Court which exercises territorial jurisdiction over the concerned ITAT. These observations are only obiter. In any event, they did not preclude the party from filing the appeal befor ethe appropriate High Court where the Assessing Officers exercise jurisdiction. However, we are reiterating for clarity and certainty that the jurisdiction of a High Court is not dependent on the location of the ITAT, as sometimes a Bench of the ITAT exercises jurisdiction over plurality of State. 5. Therefore, we are of the view that this Court has no jurisdiction and it is open to the appellant to work out its remedy before the High Court at Calcutta and get the issue redressed. Though it ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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