PR. COMMISSIONER OF INCOME TAX – 1 v. M/S AGROHA FINCAP LTD.

1. This review petition has been filed by the respondent/assessee seeking review of the judgment dated 06.10.2025 passed in the aforesaid appeal. The review has been sought by the respondent/assessee primarily on the ground that has been culled out in paragraphs 6 to 9 of the petition, which we reproduce as under:-

that the Appeal was filed on 23.01.2024 and admitted by the Hon'ble High Court on 24.01.2024, the Revenue being bound by the CBDT Circular No. 3 of 2018 issued on 11.07.2018, which prescribed that henceforth no Appeal shall be filed in cases before High Court where the tax effect does not exceed the monetary limit of Rs. 50 lacs and which monetary limit had been subsequently enhanced to Rs. 1 crore vide CBDT Circular No. 17 of 2019 dated 08.08.2019, the instant Appeal was not maintainable before the Hon'ble Court. It was also pointed out that the above Circulars even had retrospective application to all pending Appeals before the Courts, which were below the specified monetary tax limit, & which appeals which were directed to be either withdrawn or not pressed by the Revenue before the Hon'ble Court.

7. After hearing the Counsels of both sides on the issue referred above, the Hon'ble Court vide Order dated 22.08.2025 renotified the Appeal for further hearing on 26.08.2025 so as to enable the Counsel for the Appellant to take instructions. On 26.08.2025, the case was however directed to be listed for hearing on 02.09.2025 before the Bench which had heard the matter, this being a part heard matter.

8. On 02.09.2025, the Counsel for the Appellant informed the Hon 'ble High Court that he has written instructions from the Chief Commissioner of Income Tax- 1, New Delhi to submit before the Hon'ble Court that the Appeal survives and need not be withdrawn as not pressed on account of low tax effect, as the case of the Revenue falls in the exception prescribed at para no. 3.[1] (h) of the New Circular No. 09/ 2024 dated 17.09.2025. The copy of the e-mail communication of the Income Tax Officer, Ward - 1(1), New Delhi to the above effect was provided to the Counsel for the Respondent by the Counsel for the Appellant, which is s enclosed as Annexure A -2.

9. The Arguments in the Appeal was finally heard by the Hon'ble High Court on 04.09.2025 and the Judgment was reserved. It is humbly submitted that the arguments related firstly on the ground of maintainability of the Appeal filed by the Revenue on ground of low tax effect and the applicability of the exception provided for in para no. 3.[1] (h) of the New Circular No. 09/ 2024 dated 17.09.2025, on the Appeal which was filed on 23.01.204 and in which the Question of Law was framed on 24.01.2024, meaning thereby whether the newly inserted exception on 17.09.2025 would be retrospectively applicable on 24.01.2024. In this regard the Counsel for the Respondent in support of his arguments also relied on the Judgement of the Hon'ble Supreme Court in Director of Income Tax, Delhi vs. SRMB Dairy Farming P. Ltd. in Civil Appeal No. 19650 of 2017 dated 23.11.2017 as well as the Judgements of the Hon'ble Bombay High Court in CIT vs. V.M Salgaonkar and Brothers P. Ltd. (Tax Appeal No. 47 /

2014) dated 09.12.2024; PCIT Mumbai vs M/s lPL Loan Trust (ITA No. 643 of 2018 dated 05.02.2025) and PCIT vs. JB Technologies P. td. (ITA No. 14922 of 2023 dated 13.08.2025).”

2. Suffice to state the petitioner would contend that one of the issues raised by its counsel is that the tax effect being less than Rs. 1 crore, the appeal is not maintainable in view of the circular dated 11.07.2018. The said issue has not been decided by this Court in the order dated 06.10.2025.

3. The other submission is that, as there are other grounds canvassed by the respondent/appellant before the Tribunal, the matter be remanded back to the Tribunal for consideration on those grounds. We are not impressed by both the grounds canvassed by the review petitioner.

4. Insofar as the circular dated 11.07.2018 is concerned, the same stands replaced by the circular dated 08.08.2019. The circular dated 08.08.2019 was then superseded by circular dated 15.03.2024 which states that the appeal without regard to tax effect shall be filed before the High Court only in certain exceptions including exception (h), which stipulates, “cases involving organised tax evasion including cases of bogus capital gain/loss through penny stocks and cases of accommodation entries”.

5. The case of the Revenue is that this appeal falls within the exception (h), which we have reproduced above. It is correct that the submission was made by Mr. Arvind Kumar, counsel for the respondent/review petitioner, but this Court has not given its finding on the same and the same is inadvertent.

6. In any case, having considered the record, it is clear that the case of the appellant/Revenue before the Assessing Officer and also the CIT (Appeals) was of accommodation entry. If that be so, the case surely falls within the exception (h).

7. Hence, the plea in that regard on behalf of the respondent/assessee/review petitioner is liable to be rejected.

8. Having said that the other submission made by Mr. Kumar is that as the other grounds of appeal as pleaded by the respondent herein were not adjudicated by the Tribunal, the matter be remanded back. In this respect, it is necessary to reproduce paragraph 3 of the order of the ITAT, wherein the assessee/respondent has pressed ground no. 3, which reads as under:-