NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Tuesday questioned the Delhi high court‘s order asking the Congress party to approach the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT) for interim stay on income tax demand notice for recovery of outstanding dues of more than Rs 100 crore.
Agreeing to hear the appeal of the political party against HC’s order, a bench of justices B V Nagarathna and N Kotiswar Singh issued notice on its petition.”How can the high court ask the petitioner (Congress) to go back to ITAT when it came in an appeal against the tribunal’s order? The high court was not right in not exercising its jurisdiction,” the bench observed.
Additional solicitor general N Venkataraman, appearing for the income tax department, informed the court that the recovery of the outstanding amount has already been made and the issue in question is of only academic interest now. But senior advocate Vivek Tankha, appearing for the party, submitted that the high court should have at least granted an interim stay on the demand notice.
The HC had, on March 13, refused to interfere with the order of the ITAT declining to stay the notice issued by the I-T department. It, however, granted liberty to the political party to approach the ITAT with a fresh stay application bringing to its notice the change in the circumstances including that an amount of Rs 65.94 crore has already been recovered by the I-T department by way of encashment of bank drafts.
Agreeing to hear the appeal of the political party against HC’s order, a bench of justices B V Nagarathna and N Kotiswar Singh issued notice on its petition.”How can the high court ask the petitioner (Congress) to go back to ITAT when it came in an appeal against the tribunal’s order? The high court was not right in not exercising its jurisdiction,” the bench observed.
Additional solicitor general N Venkataraman, appearing for the income tax department, informed the court that the recovery of the outstanding amount has already been made and the issue in question is of only academic interest now. But senior advocate Vivek Tankha, appearing for the party, submitted that the high court should have at least granted an interim stay on the demand notice.
The HC had, on March 13, refused to interfere with the order of the ITAT declining to stay the notice issued by the I-T department. It, however, granted liberty to the political party to approach the ITAT with a fresh stay application bringing to its notice the change in the circumstances including that an amount of Rs 65.94 crore has already been recovered by the I-T department by way of encashment of bank drafts.