The Commissioner of Income Tax-III, Pune v. United Western Bank Ltd

The Commissioner of Income Tax-III, Pune. Vs. United Western Bank Ltd. .... Mr.Vimal Gupta for the Appellant. Mr. S.N. Inamdar for the Respondent. ..... ...Appellant. ...Respondent. CORAM : DR.D.Y.CHANDRACHUD AND J.P.DEVADHAR, JJ. June 11, 2010. P.C. : The appeal has been filed against the order of the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal by which the Tribunal declined to entertain the appeal on the ground that clearance of the Committee on Disputes had not been obtained. The appeal before the Tribunal was filed by the United Western Bank Ltd. which during the pendency of the appeal was amalgamated with the Industrial Development Bank of India by a notification dated 30 September 2006. Consequent upon the amalgamation, the assessee is a public sector undertaking fully owned by the 2 Government of India. The Tribunal has held that though the assessee has assumed the character of a public sector undertaking during the pendency of the appellate proceedings, the spirit underlying the requirement for obtaining a clearance of the Committee on Disputes is that, as far as possible, disputes between Government Departments and public sector undertakings should be resolved through a conciliatory process instead of taking recourse to a litigative forum. The Tribunal has granted liberty to the appellant to seek restoration of the appeal upon obtaining clearance of the Committee on Disputes and has permitted the appellant to move a miscellaneous application. In our view, it is not necessary for this Court to entertain the appeal. It would be open to the appellant to move the Committee on Disputes for seeking clearance. In the event that the Committee comes to the conclusion that its clearance is not necessary, it would be open to the appellant to move the Tribunal in a Miscellaneous Application placing the decision of the Committee on the record. In that view of the matter, we dispose of the appeal by permitting the appellant to take necessary steps in accordance with law. 3 ( Dr.D.Y.Chandrachud, J.) ( J.P.Devadhar, J.)