High Court Seethes With Fury At Dept For “Dirty Games” With Assessees

Management Committee Paradeep Port vs. ITO (Orissa High Court)

The assessee, a charitable institution whose income was exempt u/s 11, was granted a certificate of Nil TDS u/s 197 in the earlier years. For FY 2009-10, the assessee’s application for a s. 197 certificate was not processed and so the assessee filed a Writ Petition pursuant to which the Dept. agreed to consider the application and pass an order. The AO thereafter passed an order stating that since the FY 2009-10 had already lapsed, the s. 197 certificate for that FY could not be issued. The assessee filed a Writ Petition to challenge the rejection. The department filed an affidavit in which it claimed, for the first time, that the rejection was because there were demands outstanding against the assessee. HELD by the High Court: