Settlement Application Must Be Decided Within 18 Months Under Section 245D(4A) of Income Tax Act: Allahabad High Court

The Allahabad High Court has held that the statutory time limit governing settlement proceedings under the Income-tax Act, 1961 cannot be extended merely because a pending settlement application is transferred from one Interim Board for Settlement to another. The Court held that once an Interim Board has taken cognizance of a pending application and acted upon it, the statutory 18-month period cannot be restarted by an administrative transfer of the…