Assessment order under Income Tax Act 1961 set aside due to unresolved objections

The Court set aside the assessment order and demand notice issued under Section 144 of the Income Tax Act, 1961 for the assessment year 2012-13 due to the non-resolution of objections filed in response to the notice under section 148 before passing the assessment order. The Assessing Officer was allowed to proceed afresh, considering all rights and contentions of the parties, in accordance with the law.

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Issues:
1. Legality and correctness of the assessment order passed under Section 144 of the Income Tax Act, 1961 for the assessment year 2012-13.
2. Barred by limitation.
3. Non-disposal of objections filed pursuant to the notice issued under section 148 of the Act before passing the assessment order.

Analysis:
1. The petitioner challenged the assessment order passed by Respondent No.1 under Section 144 of the Income Tax Act, 1961 for the assessment year 2012-13, along with the demand notice issued under Section 156 of the Act. The petitioner's counsel raised two main arguments. Firstly, they contended that the assessment order was time-barred. Secondly, they argued that the objections filed in response to the notice under section 148 had not been addressed before the assessment order was passed.

2. The petitioner's counsel relied on previous judgments to support their contentions. They cited the case of 'COMMISSIONER OF INCOME TAX AND ANOTHER v. B J N HOTELS LIMITED' for the limitation aspect and the case of 'M/s. DEEPAK EXTRUSIONS PVT. LTD., v. THE DEPUTY COMMISSIONER OF INCOME TAX' for the issue of passing the assessment order without disposing of the objections raised post-notice under section 148.

3. The respondent's counsel did not contest the limitation argument but acknowledged that the objections raised by the petitioner had not been resolved before the assessment order was passed. This situation was found to be in line with a Division Bench Judgment of the Court in the case of DEEPAK EXTRUSIONS PVT. LTD. As a result, the Court disposed of the writ petition, setting aside the assessment order and demand notice. However, the Assessing Officer was permitted to proceed with the matter in accordance with the law, keeping all rights and contentions of the parties open for further consideration.

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