INCOME TAX nbspINSTRUCTION NO 082013 Dated 16072013 Subject Standard Operating Procedure for appealsSLPs tiled by the assessees in the Supreme Court and related matters Instruction regarding Instruction no 4 of 2011 dated 9th March 2011nbspof CBDT laying down the Standard Operating procedure on filing of appealsSLPs by the Income Tax Department contains interalia the procedure to be followed in the case of SLPs filed by the taxpayers at paragraph 6 Further reference may be made to the letter of DGITLampR FNo DGITLampRFM meeting201213 dt 11022013 regarding drafting of SLP and framing of proper substantial question of law Reference may also be made to the letter dt16042013 of the CIT AampJ to all CCsITCCA on the issue of managing litigation in Supreme Court and High Courts wherein it was instructed that same procedure as provided by above for the SLPs  appeals of the department should be followed for all SLPs  appeals filed by the assessees A video conference was held by the MemberAampJ with all CCsITCCA and feedback was taken about current practices adopted in the field for attending to SLPsappeals filed by the assessee Based on the feedback gathered and with a view to providing effective and uniform approach for handling of SLPsappeals filed by the assessee following instructions are issued 2 Institutional mechanism for filing of CaveatCounter Affidavit in SLPs filed against the Department nbspnbsp I Filing of Caveat i After the pronouncement of order by High Court and on receipt of the order the CIT will examine the order and will decide whether caveat is to be filed before the Supreme Court to ensure that the SLP is not admitted without hearing the Department and that no interim order against the Department is passed exparte If it is decided to file caveat CIT will send a proposal containing detailed reasoning to the DIT LampR seeking filing of caveat For this purpose the CIT will also send a copy of order of High Court and vakalatnama in favour of advocate on record AoR with the proposal ii Where it is decided not to file a caveat the CIT will record in writing in the judicial folder why the filing of caveat was not considered necessary iii If the CAS has obtained copy of SLP filed by the taxpayer timeline for preparation of counter affidavit will immediately start and counter affidavit would have to be prepared and filed before the Supreme Court as per the timeline provided in AnnexureA suitably modified iv All CsIT are required to forward a list of cases pertaining to their jurisdiction as decided by the High Court in favour of the department during the month to the DGITLampR by the 7th of the following month The list to be forwarded shall contain the details regarding ITAITR Number Name amp Address of Assessee Assessment Year CIT Charge and Appeal filed by Assessee or Department nbspnbsp II Observing Cause list of Supreme Court  i Once the High Court has pronounced the judgment the DGITLampR shall observe the causelistadvance causelist of Supreme Court SC on the websitewwwsupremecourtofindianicin with a view to watching fixation for hearing of any SLP filed against the order of High Court and inform the CIT concerned ii At the preliminary stage except where a caveat has been filed the Supreme Court hears the appellant only and decides whether the SLP is to be admitted not In case of SLP being dismissed no further action is called for Even though the Supreme Court may admit SLP without giving any opportunity to the opposite party however the general practice is that if the Supreme Court is of the view that SLP needs to be admitted it directs issue of notice to the Department and subsequent fixation for hearing Record of proceedings of hearing in Supreme Court is posted on the above mentioned website on the following day after hearing from which it could be verified whether the preliminary hearing of SLP resulted into its dismissal or further fixation for admission purpose If the SLP is directed to be fixed for admission purpose the CIT shall send vakalatnama in favour of Advocate on record AoR to DIT L amp R for obtaining copy of SLP and other documents nbspnbsp III Receipt of notice  If the CIT receiving the notice issued by the Registry of the Supreme Court directly or through assessee does not have jurisdiction over the case he shall forward the notice to the jurisdictional CIT immediately under intimation to the DIT LampR If the vakalatnama in favour of AoR has not yet been sent it shall be sent to the DIT LampR for obtaining copy of SLP and other documents nbspnbsp IV Preparation of Counter Affidavit  DIT LampR shall forward the vakalatnama to AoR in Central Agency Section CAS with a request to obtain the copy of SLP and other documents DIT LampR shall send the copy of SLP amp other documents as received from AoR to CIT for furnishing parawise comments on SLP The CIT shall prepare and forward the parawise comments on SLP along with the copy of notice and paper book if any received from the registry of Supreme Court to DIT LampR for preparation of Counter Affidavit by AoR The DIT LampR shall provide these papers to AoR in CAS and shall obtain draft Counter Affidavit as prepared by AoR nbspnbsp V Vetting and filing of Counter Affidavit  Draft Counter Affidavit as received from CAS shall be forwarded by DIT LampR to the CIT for vetting The CIT shall vet the counter affidavit and send it to the DIT LampR along with the corrections suggested if any The DIT LampR shall send the vetted draft along with the corrections to AoR for preparation of final Counter Affidavit Counter Affidavit as prepared by CAS shall be forwarded by the DIT LampR to the CIT for signature In case CIT suggests any further changes to the draft counter affidavit above procedure will be followed until the Counter Affidavit is prepared to the satisfaction of CIT The CIT shall sign the final Counter Affidavit and send it to the DIT LampR for onward transmission to CAS for filing before the Supreme Court nbspnbsp VI Monitoring of the SLPAppeal coining up for hearing  After the Counter Affidavit has been filed the CIT shall continue to watch the cause list advance causelist for any SLP filed against the Department to come up for hearing for admission Regarding the SLPs which have been admitted and converted into CivilCriminal Appeals  the CIT shall also watch the causelistadvance cause list for such appeals to come up for regular hearing nbspnbsp VII Assistance to Law Officers Appearing Counsels  i The CIT shall ensure that the Law OfficerAppearing Counsel representing the case is briefed properly before the hearing for admission of SLP Once the case appears in the advance list of hearing of cases on the Supreme Court website the CIT shall prepare a brief about the facts of the case and other relevant factuallegal developments since the time of filing of the SLP by the assessee A soft copy of Brief shall be provided to the DIT LampR by the CIT within 7 days of the case getting listed in the advance cause list In all cases where the briefingappearing counsel desires a personal briefing or the CIT is of the opinion considering the importancerevenue potential of the case that the Counsel should be briefed the CIT or Addl CIT concerned shall visit New Delhi to arrange for such a briefing DIT LampR shall facilitate arranging of such briefing Whenever any clarificationinstruction is sought by the Law officer Appearing Counsel in a case it must be provided by the CIT on priority ii The above procedure for preparation of the brief and briefing of the law officerappearing counsel shall also be followed where after the admission of SLP and conversion of it into a CivilCriminal Appeal such appeal comes up for hearing before the Supreme Court iii While preparing the counteraffidavit or brief reliance may be placed on any decided cases or provisions of law in any Act A paper book shall be prepared containing copies of all such decisions relied upon and provisions of law in any Act referred to The paperbook shall be pagenumbered and case laws shall be organized proposition wise 3 Compliance of directions of Honble Supreme Court Directions issued by the Honble Supreme Court must be complied with within the time allowed The CIT shall personally ensure compliance of directions relating to Dasti service filing of counter or rejoinder affidavit or other directions to avoid adverse observations 4 Timelines for processing of Counter Affidavit to be filed in the Supreme Court With a view to ensuring timely filing of counter affidavits in matters of SLP filed by the assessee in the Supreme Court the timelines for processing proposals at different levels are enclosed as per AnnexureA for strict adherence by all concerned 5 Responsibility to ensure timely processing of Counter Affidavit other procedures The CCIT and CIT shall ensure timely processing of caveat application amp counter affidavit and their submission to the DIT LampR as per the timelines given in Annexure A Any deviation from the timelines will have to be duly explained and delay occurring without any reasonable cause or due to negligence would be viewed adversely 6 The Instruction shall apply with immediate effect in respect of all appealsSLP cases filed by the assessee Note 1nbspReference to CCITCIT in this instruction includes DGITDIT wherever applicable and reference to DIT LampR means reference to Directorate of Incometax Legal amp Research Delhi Note 2nbspReportscommunications of the CIT will be sent to the DITLampR through CCIT concerned F No 279MiscM332013ITJ Hemant Gupta Under Secretary to the Govt of India Timeline in case of SLP filed by the Assesseetaxpayer In case of Special Leave Petition filed by the assesseetaxpayer against the judgment of High Court timeline for various stages of processing is given below SNo Description of action points No of Days Cumulative Days 1 Date of pronouncement of judgment by High Court   2 CIT to examine the order of High Court and to decide whether Caveat is to be filed 5 5 3 If Caveat is to be filed CIT should send proposal to DITL amp R for filing of caveat 5 10 4 DITLampR to send proposal for filing of Caveat to CAS 3 13 5 CAS to file Caveat and inform DITLampR 3 16 6 DITLampR to inform CIT about caveat having been filed 3 19 7 Watching of cause listadvance causelist of SC for SLP in the case to come up for hearing for admission wwwsupremecourtofindianicin  by the DGITLampR   8 DGITLampR to inform the CIT concerned within 2 days of the information being uploaded on the website nbsp nbsp 9 Usually where the SC is of tentative view that SLP may need to be admitted SC issues notice to the Department 0 0 10 CIT to send vakalatnama in favour of Advocate on recordAoR to DITLampR 2 2 11 Transit of vakalatnama from DITLampR to AoR in CAS with request to obtain copy of SLP amp other documents 2 4 12 Obtaining copy of SLP from AoR by DITLampR 3 7 13 Dispatch of copy of SLP amp other documents to CIT by DITLampR 2 9 14 Furnishing of parawise comments by CIT on the SLP to DITLampR 7 16 15 Transit of parawise comments from DITLampR to AoR 2 18 16 Preparation of draft counteraffidavit by AoR amp dispatch to DITLampR for 7 25 17 Sending Draft Counter Affidavit by DITLampR to CIT for vetting nbsp nbsp 18 Vetting of draft Counter affidavit by CIT and returning it to DITLampR 2 28 19 Transit of vetted counter affidavit to CAS by DITLampR 1 29 20 Preparation of counteraffidavit by CAS amp dispatch to DITLampR 3 32 21 Transit of counteraffidavit by DITLampR to CIT for signature 1 33 22 Dispatch of signed counteraffidavit by CIT to DITLampR 2 35 23 Transit of signed counter affidavit from DITLampR to CAS 1 36 24 CAS to file the counter affidavit 2 38 25 DITLampR to inform the CIT about filing of Counter Affidavit 2 40 nbsp