Allowed

Malini, v. the Chief Commissioner of Income Tax (Tds), *(Corrected)

Kerala HC12 Sept 2023WP(C)/5040/2023

Case brief

AI extract

What is this about?

The Supreme Court granted liberty to petitioners to file an application for refund of TDS deducted from motor accident compensation, directing the Income Tax Commissioner to process the refund within one month even though petitioners are not assesses.

What did the court decide?

Liberty to file an application for refund of TDS; direction to process refund within one month; dismissed the requirement to file income tax returns.

Malini, Vs the Chief Commissioner of Income Tax (Tds), *(Corrected) — Income Tax | Kerala HC (2023)

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IN THE HIGH COURT OF KERALA AT ERNAKULAM

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PRESENT

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THE HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE DINESH KUMAR SINGH

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TUESDAY, THE 12TH DAY OF SEPTEMBER 2023 / 21ST BHADRA, 1945

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WP(C) NO. 5040 OF 2023

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PETITIONERS:

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1MALINI,
AGED 47 YEARS, W/O DILEEP,
CHARAMAYIL HOUSE, KOTHAMANGALAM VILLAGE,
KUTHUKUZHY BHAGOM, KOTHAMANGALAM TALUK,
ERNAKULAM DISTRICT, PIN – 686691.

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2ABHINAND,
AGED 18 YEARS,S/O DILEEP,
CHARAMAYIL HOUSE, KOTHAMANGALAM VILLAGE,
KUTHUKUZHY BHAGOM, KOTHAMANGALAM TALUK,
ERNAKULAM DISTRICT, PIN – 686691.

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3AMRUTHA,
AGED 13 YEARS, D/O DILEEP,
MINOR, REPRESENTED BY HER MOTHER AND NATURAL
GUARDIAN THE 1ST PETITIONER MALINI,
CHARAMAYIL HOUSE, KOTHAMANGALAM VILLAGE,
KUTHUKUZHY BHAGOM, KOTHAMANGALAM TALUK,
ERNAKULAM DISTRICT, PIN – 686691.
BY ADVS.
 SRI. DR. V.N.SANKARJEE
 SRI. P. VISWANATHA MENON

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RESPONDENTS:

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1THE CHIEF COMMISSIONER OF INCOME TAX (TDS),
*(CORRECTED)
KERALA, C.R. BUILDING, I.S. PRESS ROAD,
KANAYANNUR TALUK, ERNAKULAM DISTRICT
* CORRECTED AS THE COMMISSIONER OF INCOME TAX(TDS),
KERALA, C. R. BUILDING, I. S. PRESS ROAD,
KANAYANNOOR TALUK, ERNAKULAM DISTRICT, PIN-682018.
(AS PER ORDER DATED 09.08.2023 IN I.A.1/2023 IN
WP(C)5040/2023, PIN – 682018)

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2THE NATIONAL INSURANCE COMPANY LTD.,
REGISTERED OFFICE 3, MIDDLE TOWN STREET, KOLKATA,
REPRESENTED BY ITS MANAGING DIRECTOR,PIN – 700071.

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WP(C) NO. 5040 OF 2023

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3THE DIVISIONAL MANAGER,
NATIONAL INSURANCE COMPANY LTD.,
ALUVA DIVISIONAL OFFICE, PUMP JUNCTION,
ALUVA, ERNAKULAM DISTRICT, PIN – 683101.

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BY ADVS.

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 SRI. CHRISTOPHER ABRAHAM, SC - INCOME TAX
 SMT. LATHA SUSAN CHERIAN
 SRI. GEORGE A.CHERIAN

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 SRI. GEORGE CHERIAN (SR.)

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THIS WRIT PETITION (CIVIL) HAVING COME UP FOR
ADMISSION ON 12.09.2023, THE COURT ON THE SAME DAY
DELIVERED THE FOLLOWING:

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WP(C) NO. 5040 OF 2023

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DINESH KUMAR SINGH, J.

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W.P.(C) No.5040 of 2023

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Dated this the 12^th day of September, 2023

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JUDGMENT

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The present writ petition under Article 226 of the Constitution of India has been filed for a direction to the 1^st respondent to refund Rs. 5,67,939/- (Rupees Five lakh sixty seven thousand nine hundred and thirty nine only) being the total TDS amount deducted from the amount of compensation awarded to the three petitioners by the Motor Accidents Claims Tribunal (MACT), Perumbavoor vide the award dated 31.08.2017 passed in O.P.(MV) No.392 of 2014.

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The petitioners are not the assessees under the provisions of the Income Tax Act. They don’t even possess PAN Card. The 3^rd respondent Insurance Company while making the payment of compensation to the petitioners had deducted the TDS amount of Rs.1,89,313/- (Rupees One lakh eighty nine thousand three hundred and thirteen only) from each of the three petitioners.

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The submission of the Learned Counsel for the petitioners is that the petitioners are not liable to file return of income as they

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WP(C) NO. 5040 OF 2023

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are not the assessees under the provisions of Income Tax Act. It is not in dispute that no amount of income tax is payable on the compensation awarded by the Motor Accidents Claims Tribunal. TDS is nothing but an advance tax on the income of the assessees. It is deducted at source by the persons making payment to an assessees. When no income tax is payble and the petitioners are not assessees, there is no question of them filing the returns on their income.

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In the above circumstances, I do not find any substance in the submission of Mr. Christopher Abraham, Learned Counsel for the 1^st respondent that unless the petitioners file return of their income, their application for return of the TDS amount cannot be processed. When the petitioners are neither assessees nor they have an income for which the return can be filed, the refund of TDS amount deducted and deposited by the Insurance Company on the compensation awarded by the MACT has to be processed on a simple application by the petitioners. Thus I grant liberty to the petitioners to file an application before the 1^st respondent within a period of ten days from today and the 1^st respondent Commissioner of Income Tax (TDS), Kerala shall process the said application and refund the TDS amount deducted and deposited

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WP(C) NO. 5040 OF 2023

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by the Insurance Company from the compensation paid to the petitioners. Such refund should be processed within a period of one month after filing the application by the petitioners.

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With the aforesaid directions the writ petition is finally

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disposed of.

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Sd/-

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DINESH KUMAR SINGH

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JUDGE

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Svn

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WP(C) NO. 5040 OF 2023

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APPENDIX OF WP(C) 5040/2023

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PETITIONERS’ EXHIBITS

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EXHIBIT P1TRUE COPY OF THE AWARD DATED 31.8.2017 IN
O.P.(MV) NO.392/2014 OF THE MOTOR ACCIDENTS
CLAIMS TRIBUNAL, PERUMBAVOOR

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EXHIBIT P2TRUE COPY OF THE CLAIM FILE NO. P8898 DATED
10.5.2018 OF THE 2ND RESPONDENT ISSUED TO
THE 1ST PETITIONER

Malini, v. the Chief Commissioner of Income Tax (Tds), *(Corrected)

Case brief

What is this about?

What did the court decide?

Malini, v. the Chief Commissioner of Income Tax (Tds), *(Corrected)

Case brief

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What did the court decide?

What the court decided

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