Shivali Credit Co-operative Society Limited V. Income Tax Officer ITO Ward 1 and TPS and National Faceless Assessment Centre and The Principal Chief Commissioner of Income Tax

WP/13598/2024

AI Insights

The case involves Shivali Credit Co-operative Society Limited, which challenged the validity of several notices and orders issued by the Income Tax Department for the assessment year 2016-17. The primary contention was that the initial notice under Section 148A(b) was incorrectly sent to the email address of a former Chartered Accountant, rather than to the current Principal Officer of the society. This error led to the petitioner not receiving the notice, which formed the basis of their challenge. The court, upon reviewing the communication error, set aside all related proceedings, acknowledging the procedural flaw in the service of notice.

• Counselvise Citation: [2024] 140 COUNSELVISE.COM (IT) 797075 (HC-KARNATAKA)
• Appeal Type: Others
• Pronouncement Date: 19-06-2024
• Assessment Year: misc
• Laws Referred To: Income Tax Act, 1961
• Result in Favour of: Others
• Court: HIGH COURT
• Department Lawyers: M THIRUMALESH
• Assessee Lawyers: RAVISHANKAR
• Keywords: Assessment Year 2016-17; Email Communication; Income Tax; Notice; Service of notice
• Section: 147; 148; 144; 151; 148A(b); 148A(d)

Judgement Text

" - 1 - NC: 2024:KHC:21972 WP No. 13598 of 2024 IN THE HIGH COURT OF KARNATAKA AT BENGALURU DATED THIS THE 19TH DAY OF JUNE, 2024 BEFORE THE HON'BLE MR JUSTICE S SUNIL DUTT YADAV WRIT PETITION NO. 13598 OF 2024 (T-IT) BETWEEN: SHIVALI CREDIT CO-OPERATIVE SOCIETY LIMITED, REGISTERED UNDER THE KARNATAKA CO-OPERATIVE SOCIETIES ACT, 1959, REPRESENTED BY PRAKASH KARANTH VICE PRESIDENT, Ist FLOOR, SHIROOR MUTT BUILDING, RAJANGANA ROAD UDUPI UDUPI - 576 101, PAN AADAS630 6F ALSO AT PRAKASH KARATH AGED ABOUT 61 YEARS, S/O LAKSHMINARAYAN KARATH NO.7-498,. MEENA LAXMI NITTUR POST, NITTUR UDUPI - 576 103. …PETITIONER (BY SRI RAVISHANKAR S.V, ADV.) AND: 1. INCOME TAX OFFICER ITO WARD 1 AND TPS, AAYAKA BHAVAN, MALPE ROAD, AADIUDUPI AMBALAPADI, (PO), UDUPI - 576 103. 2. NATIONAL FACELESS ASSESSMENT CENTRE ADDITIONAL/ JOINT/ DEPUTY / ASSISTANT COMMISSIONER OF INCOME TAX / INCOME TAX OFFICER, INCOME TAX DEPARTMENT MINISTRY OF FINANCE ROOM NO.401 2nd FLOOR E RAMP, JAWAHARLAL NEHRU STADIUM, Digitally signed by KIRAN KUMAR R Location: HIGH COURT OF KARNATAKA - 2 - NC: 2024:KHC:21972 WP No. 13598 of 2024 DELHI - 110 003. 3. THE PRINCIPAL CHIEF COMMISSIONER OF INCOME TAX, THE OFFICE OF THE PRINCIPAL CHIEF COMMISSIONER OF INCOME TAX, C.R. BUILDING, QUEENS ROAD, BANGALORE - 560 001. …RESPONDENTS (BY SRI M.THIRUMALESH, ADV.) THIS WP IS FILED UNDER ARTICLES 226 AND 227 OF THE CONSTITUTION OF INDIA PRAYING TO QUASHING THE NOTICE UNDER SECTION 148A(b) OF THE ACT DTD 07.02.23 BEARING DIN NO. ITBA/AST/F/148A(SCN)/22-23/1049487665(1) ISSUED BY THE R1 FOR THE ASSESSMENT YEAR 2016-17 HEREIN MARKED AS ANNEXURE-A. THIS PETITION, COMING ON FOR PRELIMINARY HEARING, THIS DAY, THE COURT MADE THE FOLLOWING: ORDER 1. The petitioner has assailed the validity of notice under Section 148A(b) of the Income Tax Act, 1961 (hereinafter referred to as 'the Act' for short) issued for the assessment year 2016-2017 at Annexure - A and also the order under Section 148A(d) of the Act at Annexure - A1, notice under Section 148 of the Act at Annexure - A2, order passed under Section 147 read with Section 144 of the Act at Annexure - A3, penalty notice at Annexure - A4 and order under Section 151 of the Act at Annexure - A5. 2. Learned counsel for the petitioner submits that the very notice under Section 148A(b) has been addressed to the e-mail - 3 - NC: 2024:KHC:21972 WP No. 13598 of 2024 id of the earlier Chartered Accountant, which was '[e-mail]'. It is submitted that as on 31.03.2022 itself, the petitioner had used the e-mail id for reference as is evidenced from the Profile at Annexure - C wherein the primary e-mail id was that of the Principal Officer of the Company and was '[e-mail]'. It is on such sole ground, it is submitted that notice under Section 148A(b) of the Act having gone to the wrong e-mail id, all proceedings pursuant thereto including order under Section 148A(d) of the Act leading to notice under Section 148 of the Act and assessment order and subsequent proceedings are required to be set-aside as being one without notice to the petitioner. 3. Taking note of the Profile of the assessee at Annexure-C which shows the e-mail id of the petitioner to be that of the Principal Officer as referred to above, clearly the notice under Section 148A(b) of the Act issued to the e-mail id of the previous Chartered Accountant as noticed, has resulted in no service of notice to the petitioner. 4. Accordingly, in the light of the defect in communication and intimation of notice under Section 148A(b) of the Act, the - 4 - NC: 2024:KHC:21972 WP No. 13598 of 2024 entirety of the proceedings right from notice under Section 148A(b) of the Act at Annexure - A, order under Section 148A(d) of the Act at Annexure - A1, notice under Section 148 at Annexure - A2, order under Section 147 read with Section 144 of the Act at Annexure - A3, penalty notice at Annexure - A4 and order under Section 151 of the Act at Annexure - A5, are set-aside. 5. Liberty is reserved to take appropriate action as regards Section 148A(b) of the Act. 6. Further, the contention that the petitioner claims income to be exempt and accordingly was not aware of other posts on the portal requires to be accepted. 7. All contentions are kept open. Accordingly, the petition is disposed off. SD/- JUDGE DN "