Section 260A IT Act -Only the high court in the assessor's jurisdiction - Supreme Court

The Supreme Court reaffirmed that only the High Court whose territorial jurisdiction the assessing officer is located may hear an appeal under Section 260A of the Income Tax Act against decisions of the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal.

According to Section 260A of the IT Act, if the High Court determines that the matter includes a significant legal issue, it may be appropriate to appeal a decision made by the Appellate Tribunal in an appeal made prior to the date the National Tax Tribunal was established.

In this instance, the Punjab and Haryana High Court received the appeal made according to Section 260A. The Assessing Officer who issued the decision was located in Surat, within the State of Gujarat, so the High Court instructed the appellant to bring the appeal before the High Court of Gujarat.

The petitioner cited the following recent ruling in Principal Commissioner of Income Tax-I, Chandigarh v. ABC Papers Ltd. (2022) 9 SCC 1 before the Apex Court:

Regarding the argument that the High Court of Gujarat has adopted a divergent position, the bench made the following observation: "We need only mention that any divergent position that has been adopted cannot survive after the authoritative declaration by this Court in the decision we have referenced.

Commissioner of Income Tax - I vs Balak Capital Pvt Ltd