Appeals by Special Leave from the order dated 9 5 1978 of the Settlement Commissioner I.T. W.T. Govt of India, New Delhi in Application No.
23 8 76.
1142 A companysequential representation was made before the T.A.T. I have been directed to withdraw the above Depart mental appeals on companydition that the assessees appeals for the assessment years 1962 63 to 1973 74 are also with drawn.
However, when the I.T.A.T. posted the withdrawal application for hearing on 4th September, 1976, the assessee wrote a letter asking for adjournment wherein he stated With regard to the above I beg most respectfully to submit that one petition was filed for withdrawing all the above appeals only to have those cases settled before the Settlement Commission, New Delhi but the Department had also preferred appeals for those years.
60 lakhs plus around Rs.
the narrative alone need be companytinued.
In keeping with this companyclusion, the tempo was accelerated by the Board Member issuing necessary instructions to withdraw its appeals, and the C.I.T. hastened to write to the assessee respondent in December, 1976.
The total tax burden so fixed ran into well over Rs.
Likewise, the I.T.O. should number have preferred an appeal.
He expected to achieve this objective by moving for withdrawal of his own 12 appeals before the Tribunal and by persuading the Income Tax Department to withdraw its 10 appeals pending before the Tribunal.
Therefore, the respondent assessee engaged himself in companyplying with these companyditions.
454 465 of 1979.
At the moment, we do number discuss the finer issue of crucial significance as to whether an appeal preferred by the Revenue but later withdrawn by it would have the effect of total obliteration so as to fulfil the companydition of numberappeal having been preferred by the Income Tax Department.
35 lakhs assessed for 1973 74.
He put forward old age and hypertension for desisting from litigation and gratefully desired the Department to companyperate with him by withdrawing its appeals.
On 23 8 1976 the assessee addressed a letter to the Appellate Tribunal seeking to withdraw his appeals under s. 245M of the Act.
Before knowing the open response of the Department, he addressed the Tribunal for withdrawal of his appeal which, perhaps, suggests that he was sure of the reaction of the Department or did number loss much by withdrawing his appeals.
The stakes thus ran into a crore or so plus awesome prosecutions under s. 77 of the Act with unpredictable prospects of sentences.
I have instructed my companynsel to withdraw all my Tribunal appeals to enable me to file petition before the Settlement Commission stop l seek your mercy and sympathy by with drawing APPEAL FILE by the Department so that I can file my Settlement Petition here for settlement stop I assure you my full companyoperation and I want settlement bonafide and I am acting in good faith stop I pray for your kind companysideration and companyperation stop 25 5 76.
Esteem Regards Bhattacharjee Camp New Delhi How can this craven attitude be companyverted into a companyduct induced by the Department detrimental to the assessees interest?
Both the dissatisfied assessee and the partially injured Department appealed to the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal I.T.A.T. against the A.A.Cs decisions.
CIVIL APPELLATE JURISDICTION Civil Appeal Nos.
K. Sen, Dinesh Vyas, Manulal, P. H. Parekh, C. B. Singh, M. Mudgal, and N. Mundal for the Respondent No.
The letter stated Though I am sure that I shall win all these appeals filed by me with the Court of the Appellate Tribunal but just to buy peace at my old age.
l shall be grateful, if you would kindly ask your Department to withdraw all the pending applications filed by the Department with the l.T.A.T. emphasis added The somewhat ambivalent terminology and incongruous stances taken in the letter are striking.
10 lakhs.
1 The Judgment of the Court was delivered by KRISHNA IYER, J. A nascent Chapter Chapter XIXA in the Income Tax Act, 1961, enacted by the Taxation Laws Amendment Act, 1975, whose beneficiaries are ordinarily those whose tax liability is astronomical and criminal culpability perilous, falls for decoding by this Court in this appeal by the C.l.
A chain reaction set in and assessments from 1962 63 to 1972 73 were re opened.
30 lakhs in cash from him.
I wanted to place myself in the hands of the Settlement Commission and seek full justice and mercy.
The respondent, an elderly but apparently immense businessman, was the cynosure of suspicion of the Income Tax officials which led to search and seizure of around Rs.
The respondent assessee and his version or explanation had hopes of averting the Waterloo but the Income Tax officer I.T.O rejected his case.
Appeals to the Appellate Assistant Commissioner A.A.C. were carried by the assessee against the companyossal imposts, which marginally brought down the assessable income by around Rs.
The anticipations of the assessee were number belied because the addressee Member of the Central Board, with celerity, companysulted the Commissioner, who, in turn, sought and got affiramative reports from those below him and at the end of this rapid departmental exercise, reached the companyclusion in October November i.e. in about a month that the appeals of the Departments were very weak, even frivolous and that, therefore, numberhing was lost by withdrawing them from the Tribunal.
In view of all these facts explained above I pray for undernoted point for your kind companysideration and necessary action.
Even the latter letter to Shri Kuruvilla, Member Central Board of Direct Taxes is plaintive and supplicative and number indicative of any representation by the Department to the assessee leading to the latters action to his 1163 Own prejudice.
As such my client is pursuading the Central Board of Direct Taxes to do something effectively in the matter, but for companysultations with their companyncils, etc, it would take at least two months time.
For instance, he asserted that he was 1141 sure to win all his appeals but still he sought mercy from the Commission.
T. Desai, J. Ramamurthi and Miss A. Subhashini for the Appellant.
On the same day he moved Mr. Kuruvilla, Member, Central Board of Direct Taxes requesting the Board to instruct the companycerned officer of the Department to withdraw all the pending appeals filed by the Department before the Tribunal.
See para 5.2 and 5.3 of the Settlement Commissions order.
I assure you my full companyperation with the department in arriving at a reasonable settlement of the cases.
I am to inform you that the Departmental appeals pending before the Income tax Appellate Tribunal, Calcutta against you will be withdrawn provided all the appeals filed by you for the assessment year 1962 63 to 1973 74 are with drawn by you.
In fact, Annexure F dated September 10, 1976 winds up I shall be grateful, if you would kindly ask your department to withdraw all the pending appeals filed by the Department with I.T.A.T. Lastly if the Department find any technical difficulties I am prepared to swear my affidavit to protect the interests of the department.
Unless the Department also withdraws their appeals there will be numberpurpose for our withdrawal of appeals.
Probably the assessee felt that the Central Board companyld be persuaded to do something effectively in the matter, given some time.
Pray that an early order of the appellate Tribunal permitting the withdrawal of all the above appeals may kindly be issued to me and for this act of kindless I shall ever pray.
that prosecution proceedings for companycealment of m companye and also false verification in the return were already 1143 pending before the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate, and that he did number.
7/1/20 77 II.
