The Calcutta High Court dismissed an appeal filed by the Principal Commissioner of Income Tax holding that the case did not qualify under the “exceptional category” to override the prescribed monetary limits for filing appeals.
The Bench comprising Justice Rajarshi Bharadwaj and Justice Uday Kumar first addressed a procedural delay of 118 days in filing the appeal. Upon being satisfied with the explanation provided by the Revenue, the Court condoned the delay and allowed the application for the same. However, this procedural relief did not translate into substantive relief for the appellant.
The department submitted that the tax effect involved in the matter was ₹1,22,97,242, which is below the threshold prescribed under CBDT Circular No. 9/2024 dated 17 September 2024 and CBDT Circular No. 5/2024 dated 15 March 2024.
Under these circulars issued by the Central Board of Direct Taxes, appeals before High Courts are generally not to be filed where the tax effect is below ₹2 crore, unless the case falls under specified exceptional circumstances.
The department attempted to invoke clause 3.1(h) of Circular No. 5/2024, which allows filing appeals in exceptional cases. However, the Court found this argument unconvincing.
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After examining the assessment order, appellate order, and the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal’s order dated 24 February 2025 for Assessment Year 2009–10, the Bench observed that the appellant failed to clearly demonstrate how the case fell within any specific exceptional category.
The Court noted that merely citing the existence of an exception is insufficient—there must be a clear and reasoned justification linking the facts of the case to the applicable clause.
The Court held that there was no valid ground to entertain the appeal. It accordingly dismissed the appeal along with the connected application, reiterating that the tax effect was below ₹2 crore and that no exceptional circumstance had been substantiated.
Case Details
Case Title: Principal Commissioner Of Income Tax 2 Kolkata Vs Hilton Commodities Pvt Ltd
Citation: JURISHOUR-951-HC-2026(CAL)
Case No.: ITAT/47/2026
Date: 21/04/2026
Counsel For Petitioner: Amit Sharma, Adv.
Counsel For Respondent: Soumitra Chowdhury, Adv.
