Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT), Hyderabad: While deciding the instant appeal in the backdrop of Corporate Insolvency Resolution Proceedings (CIRP) pending against the assessee before the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT), the Bench of Rama Kanta Panda (Accountant Member) and K. Narasimha Chary (Judicial Member), held that once the proceedings have commenced by institution of application under Sections 7 or 9 or 10 of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016 (hereinafter IBC or the Code), the continuance of pending proceedings in any Court of law or Tribunal is prohibited.
The Tribunal observed the issue in the light of Sections 13 and 14 IBC 2016 and stated that under Section 13 of IBC, 2016, the adjudicating authority after admission of the application under Sections 7 or 9 or 10 of the Code, shall declare a moratorium which shall include the prohibition of the institution of suits or continuation of pending suits or proceedings against the corporate debtor in any court of law or tribunal
The Tribunal relied upon Ghanashyam Mishra & Sons (P) Ltd. v. Edelweiss Asset Reconstruction Co. Ltd., (2021) 9 SCC 657 wherein it was held that once a resolution plan is duly approved by the Adjudicating Authority under Section 31 (1) of the Code, the claims as provided in the resolution plan shall stand frozen and will be binding on the Corporate Debtor and its employees, members, creditors including the Central Government, any State Government or any local authority, guarantors and other stakeholders. All the dues including the statutory dues owed to the Central or any State Government, local authority (if not part of the resolution plan), shall stand extinguished and no proceedings in respect of such dues for the period prior to the date on which the Adjudicating Authority grants its approval under Section 31 could be continued.
Decision:With the afore-stated observations and noting that there is an ongoing proceeding before the NCLAT instituted under the IBC, 2016, the Tribunal dismissed the appeals in limine.
The parties were granted leave to seek restoration of the appeals only if it is necessitated by the orders of the Corporate Insolvency Resolution Proceedings.[Deccan Chronicle Holdings Ltd. v. ACIT, 2022 SCC OnLine ITAT 474, decided on 22-07-2022]
Advocates who appeared in this case :
Assessee: S.Rama Rao, AR
Revenue: Y.V.S.T.Sai, CIT-DR
*Sucheta Sarkar, Editorial Assistant has reported this brief.