Supreme Court Dismisses Hundreds of Tax Cases After 'Rs 1 Crore' CBDT Circular
New Delhi: In the last one month, the Supreme Court has dismissed hundreds of cases in which the tax effects were less than Rs 1 crore.
A bench headed by Justice AK Sikri relied upon the July circular by the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) to put an end to scores of tax cases.
The CBDT circular fixed the threshold limit for filing appeal in the Supreme Court at over Rs 1 crore and stated that pending appeals or special leave petitions (SLPs) should be withdrawn "on priority" to enable the department to focus on high value litigation.
Taking into account this circular, the bench led by Justice Sikri decided to proactively cut down such appeals pending before the apex court. The court, by one such order recently, wrapped up more than 200 cases in one brush.
"The Registry has listed these matters on the ground that the tax effect is less than Rs 1 crore and, therefore, as per the Circular of the CBDT, these are not pressed by the Income Tax Department and are to be dismissed on the ground of low tax effect," noted the bench.
The order added: "In these appeals the tax effect is less than Rs 1 crore and are covered by the Circular of CBDT. These appeals are, accordingly, dismissed. However, it will be open to the Income-Tax Department to seek review in any of these matters, if it is pointed out that the tax effect is more than Rs 1 crore."
Similar orders have been passed in hundreds of cases to give a quietus to the tax cases.
The court has further directed the registry to maintain a separate list of cases where the assessees have moved in appeals and also another list where although the tax effect is less than Rs 1 crore, the cases said to be not covered by the CBDT circular.
Under the exception clause, notwithstanding the tax effect, taxmen can file appeals in cases that involve foreign black money or accounts, cases challenging constitutional validity of IT Act provisions, where rules issued by the tax department were held to be illegal, cases involving additions based on inputs received from other investigative agencies, or where the tax department has initiated prosecution.
Courtesy: www.news18.com
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CM Siddaramaiah alleges ‘criminal conspiracy’ in Sringeri recount, vows legal action
Bengaluru (PTI): Alleging a “criminal conspiracy” by BJP candidate D N Jeevaraj in the Sringeri Assembly poll recounting, Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah on Tuesday said the outcome was manipulated after valid postal ballot votes in favour of Congress leader T D Raje Gowda were tampered with during the recounting process.
Following a Karnataka High Court order on an election petition filed by Jeevaraj, challenging Raje Gowda’s election, the reverification and recounting were conducted on Saturday.
After the reverification and recount of postal ballots for the Sringeri Assembly constituency, votes polled in favour of Raje Gowda were reduced by 255, the returning officer said.
A report on the matter has been submitted to the Election Commission of India for further action, the officer added.
Congress leader Raje Gowda had won the 2023 Assembly polls from Sringeri by 201 votes, defeating his nearest rival Jeevaraj.
Addressing a press conference in Bengaluru, Siddaramaiah said the High Court had directed the recounting of postal ballots and that irregularities were noticed during the exercise conducted on May 2.
“This is a clear case of criminal conspiracy,” Siddaramaiah said, alleging that valid votes cast in favour of Raje Gowda were altered after being accepted by counting agents of all parties, including Congress, BJP, and JD(S).
He claimed that during the recounting of postal ballots, 255 votes were initially accepted as valid by all agents but were later tampered with by subordinate officials.
“There is a second mark on the votes polled in favour of Raje Gowda. They had accepted these as valid votes. Subsequently, another mark was made by officials. This is a clear case of criminal conspiracy,” he said.
When asked who was behind the alleged conspiracy, the CM replied, “It was hatched by Jeevaraj and others. It is planned.”
Siddaramaiah further alleged that the returning officer acted improperly by declaring the result despite the presence of an Election Commission observer during the recounting.
“Immediately after the counting, the returning officer announced the result. He should not have done so; this is against the law,” he said.
He pointed out that Raje Gowda had originally won by 201 votes, but after the recounting, the BJP candidate was declared the winner by 52 votes.
“The BJP has committed a criminal act of conspiracy. This is not vote chori but vote dacoity,” he alleged.
The CM said a police complaint had already been filed by Raje Gowda’s election agent, Sudhir Kumar, and emphasised the need for electoral integrity.
“We want transparency and free and fair elections. That is what our Constitution mandates,” he added.
Stating that the government would pursue legal remedies, Siddaramaiah said, “We are preparing an appeal challenging the returning officer’s announcement in a court of law.”
Responding to a separate query on elections in other states, the CM said there appeared to be an anti-incumbency factor in West Bengal, while results in Tamil Nadu were “surprising,” adding that Vijay’s party was emerging as the largest there.
Following the victory of party candidates in Bagalkote and Davanagere South, Siddaramaiah expressed confidence about future electoral prospects in Karnataka.
“Even in 2028, we will win the Assembly elections. We will come back,” the CM said.
Siddaramaiah added that he would order a forensic examination into the alleged tampering of postal ballots.
