Recovery even before time to appeal elapses - Highhanded
THE anxiety of the Revenue Officers to collect revenue by any means - fair or foul, knows no bounds. In a recent case, an order demanding about Rs. 22 Crores (with the mandatory interest and penalty) was passed by a Commissioner on 27.12.2013 which was received by the assessee on 02.01.2014. On 22.01.2014, the Assistant Commissioner demanded the assessee to pay up or else ……. The Assessee still had about 70 days to appeal, but the Assistant Commissioner did not have that kind of patience. The hapless assessee had to rush to the High Court.
The High Court said the action of the authority to say the least is high-handed. The High Court wanted the officers of the Revenue Department to realize that their job is much more than merely collecting the tax. They are officers of the State, administering the Finance Act, 1994 and fairness in approach to the taxpayers and acting in accordance with the Rule of Law is a sine-qua-non in discharge of all its functions. We will bring you this order tomorrow.
In another interesting case, out of the total demand of Rs. 414 Crores, the assessee paid about Rs. 380 Crores (about 92%). Nevertheless the Commissioner (Appeals) refused to grant waiver of pre-deposit of the balance Rs. 34 Crores. The High Court observed that the approach of the Commissioner would undoubtedly result in the petitioner's right to appeal being defeated [See ].