null V. Income Tax Department

WP/13080/2022

AI Insights

The case involves a challenge to a show cause notice and an order issued by the Income Tax Department under Section 148A of the Income Tax Act, 1961, concerning the Assessment Year 2018-19. The petitioner had previously filed a regular return and an assessment order was passed. Subsequently, the Income Tax Department issued a show cause notice for reopening the assessment, to which the petitioner responded. The main legal contention raised was the alleged non-adherence to procedural requirements under Section 148A(b) of the Act, specifically regarding the minimum time required for the assessee to respond to the show cause notice. The court found that despite the procedural issues, the petitioner had been given an opportunity to respond and thus did not invalidate the proceedings.

• Counselvise Citation: [2022] 140 COUNSELVISE.COM (IT) 796457 (HC-ANDHRA_PRADESH)
• Appeal Type: Others
• Pronouncement Date: 04-05-2022
• Assessment Year: misc
• Laws Referred To: Income Tax Act, 1961
• Result in Favour of: Partly Allowed
• Court: HIGH COURT
• Department Lawyers: M KIRANMAYI
• Assessee Lawyers: CHALASANI KUMAR
• Keywords: Assessment year 2018-19; Income Tax; Reopening of assessment; Show cause notice
• Section: 143(1); 139(1); 148A(d); 148A

Judgement Text

"THE HON’BLE SRI JUSTICE A.V.SESHA SAI AND THE HON’BLE SRI JUSTICE RAVI NATH TILHARI WRIT PETITION No.13080 OF 2022 ORDER: (Per Hon’ble Sri Justice A.V.Sesha Sai) Heard Sri Chalasani Ajay Kumar, learned counsel for the petitioner and Smt. M.Kiranmayi, learned Standing Counsel for the respondent-Income Tax Department, apart from perusing the material available on record. 2. A show cause notice dated 22.03.2022 issued by the Department of Income Tax under Section 148A of the Income Tax Act, 1961 (for short, ‘the Act’), and the order passed under Section 148A(d) of the Act are under challenge in the present Writ Petition. The issue in the present Writ Petition pertains to the Assessment Year 2018-19. According to the petitioner, a regular return was filed for the Assessment Year 2018-19 on 04.10.2018 under Section 139(1) of the Act and an assessment order came to be passed on 31.05.2019 under Section 143(1) of the Act. Thereafter, respondent No.2 for the purpose of reopening the assessment, issued the impugned show cause notice dated 12.03.2022 under Section 148A of the Act. In response to the said show cause notice, the petitioner herein submitted its reply on 05.04.2022 and eventually, respondent No.1 passed an order under Section 148A(d) of the Act on 07.04.2022. In the above background, assailing the validity and 2 the legal sustainability of the show cause notice and the order passed under Section 148A(d) of the Act, the petitioner herein has come up before this Court with the present Writ Petition. 3. According to the learned counsel for the petitioner, the impugned action suffers from incurable infirmity as the respondents did not adhere to Clause (b) of Section 148A of the Act. It is also the submission of the learned counsel that the respondent-authorities, though the petitioner herein submitted an elaborate reply, did not consider the reply filed by the petitioner herein from proper perspective and passed an order under Section 148A(d) of the Act on 07.04.2022. 4. With regard to the aforementioned contention advanced by the learned counsel for the petitioner – It is to be noted that under Section 148A(b) of the Act, the minimum time of 7 days was required to be given to the assessee. In the instant case, the show cause notice indicates that the same was signed on 24.03.2022 and time was granted till 28.03.2022 to offer explanation. But the fact remains that the petitioner herein submitted reply on 05.04.2022. Only after considering the said explanation/reply, an order came to be passed eventually on 07.04.2022. Therefore, now it cannot be said that the entire proceedings get vitiated. It is also required to be noted that now the respondent-authorities passed an order under Section 3 148A(d) of the Act. Admittedly, under Section 148 of the Act, the petitioner has further opportunity to place on record relevant information before fixing the liability. Section 148 of the Act reads as follows:- \"Section 148. Before making the assessment, reassessment or recomputation under section 147, and subject to the provisions of section 148A, the Assessing Officer shall serve on the assessee a notice, along with a copy of the order passed, if required, under clause (d) of section 148A, requiring him to furnish within such period, as may be specified in such notice, a return of his income or the income of any other person in respect of which he is assessable under this Act during the previous year corresponding to the relevant assessment year, in the prescribed form and verified in the prescribed manner and setting forth such other particulars as may be prescribed; and the provisions of this Act shall, so far as may be, apply accordingly as if such return were a return required to be furnished under section 139. Provided that no notice under this section shall be issued unless there is information with the Assessing Officer which suggests that the income chargeable to tax has escaped assessment in the case of the assessee for the relevant assessment year and the Assessing Officer has obtained prior approval of the specified authority to issue such notice.\" 4 5. In view of the above provisions of law and having regard to the mechanism available under the said provision, leaving it open for the petitioner herein to avail the said mechanism under Section 148 of the Income Tax Act, 1961, this Writ Petition is disposed of. There shall be no order as to costs of the Writ Petition. As a sequel, interlocutory applications pending, if any, in this Writ Petition shall stand closed. ___________________ A.V.SESHA SAI, J _________________________ RAVI NATH TILHARI, J Date: 04.05.2022 siva 5 THE HON’BLE SRI JUSTICE A.V.SESHA SAI AND THE HON’BLE SRI JUSTICE RAVI NATH TILHARI WRIT PETITION No.13080 OF 2022 Date: 04.05.2022 siva "