Supreme Court ready to consider the issue of writ dismissal

Supreme Court ready to consider the issue of writ dismissal

It agreed on the ground that the delay was due to the assessee filing another plea on a similar dispute

The Supreme Court has agreed to consider the issue of dismissal of the writ on the ground of delay that came in the way of the assessee filing another plea involving a similar contention.

Earlier, it was submitted in the Kerala High Court that the assessee Apollo Tyres, Kochi, had set up two in-house Research and Development (R&D) facilities at Perambra (Cochin) and Limda (Vadodara). The Ministry of Science and Technology and the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research (DSIR) recognized the facilities. While the facility at Perambra was granted recognition by DSIR in 1987, Limda's approval came in 2001.

The issue raised was of whether on the facts and in the circumstances of the case, the Appellate Tribunal was right in confirming the disallowance of deduction under the Income Tax Act.

The Kerala High Court had held that the judgment passed against the assessee, barred it from re-agitating the same issue in the assessment proceedings. The request of the assessee was to give approval with effect from 2004. But the judgment approved was granted with effect from 2007 to 2010. The Delhi High Court confirmed the same.

The plea of the assessee was in respect to the same Assessment Year for which a different conclusion was expected from the apex court. All the authorities under the Act had rejected the argument for weighted depreciation.

The division bench of Justice A M Khanwilkar and Justice Ravi Kumar issued a notice in the Special Leave Petition (SLP). Assailing the Kerala High Court's decision, the bench ordered, "The fact that the decision in the earlier petition had attained inability, it will not come in the way of the petitioner. That is because that petition was dismissed merely on the ground of delay."