- (1.) THIS writ petition has been filed by the petitioner, Agricultural Produce Market Committee, for issuance of an appropriate writ or writs to the respondents to dispose of the petitioner's appeal pending before C.I.T. Appeals, Ranchi, which has been preferred by the petitioner assailing the order of the Assessing Officer, who has attached an amount of Rs. 89,43,917/ - by way of the amount of tax, which, according to the Assessing Officer, is payable by the petitioner to the Department of Income Tax on account of the fact that the amount of tax which had accrued on the amount collected by way of market fees by the petitioner for the assessment year 2002 -03.
(2.) TO explain the controversy, it may be relevant to state that the petitioner, Market Committee, collected market fees in the assessment year 2002 -03 amounting to a few crores of rupees (the accurate figure is not furnished by the counsel for the parties). It is an admitted position that a surn of Rs. 3 crores collected as market fees by the petitioner was not spent within a period of one year, as a result of which the petitioner was liable to pay income tax on the amount collected by it. However, the petitioner came up with the case that it is not liable to pay any tax on the unspent amount of Rs. 3 crores as it is legally entitled to spend this amount within a further period of five years, the implication of which, according to the petitioner, is that the amount of market fees which remained unspent in the entire assessment year 2002 -03 could be spent within a further period of Ruplal Sao Versus J.S.E.B. five years and if the petitioner is unable to spend the amount within this period, only then it would be liable to pay tax on this amount. The respondent Income Tax authority did not claim any tax from the petitioner on the unspent amount after 2003 and thereafter it even did not claim the amount of tax payable by the petitioner within a further period of five years, which admittedly expired on 31.3.2008. The respondent authority, after expiry of the period during which the petitioner could not spend the amount of market fees on the development of the market, assessed an amount of Rs. 89,43,917/ - as the tax amount on the unspent amount of Rs. 3 crores, which had been collected and which had accrued as unspent amount, not merely within one assessment year of 2002 -03, but within a further period of five years, which admittedly expired on 31.3.2008.
(3.) THE petitioner, being aggrieved with the order passed by the respondent -authority imposing an amount of Rs.89,43,917/ - as amount towards payable tax, filed an appeal before the C.I.T. Appeals, Ranchi, which is still pending. In the meantime, the respondent -authority issued an order for attachment of Rs.89,43,917/ -, which was lying in the account of the petitioner, Market Committee, and the entire bank accounts of the petitioner were also attached, due to which the petitioner filed the instant writ petition before this Court for releasing the bank accounts from attachment.;