Court quashes assessment notice for 2013-14, criticizes officer's behavior, imposes cost.

The Court quashed the impugned notice under Section 148A(b) and subsequent order under Section 148A(d) for the assessment year 2013-14, criticizing the Assessing Officer for contumacious behavior in issuing the notice despite a prior order quashing a previous notice for the same year. The respondent failed to justify the officer's actions, leading to the orders being set aside. The writ petition was allowed, imposing a cost of Rs. 10,000 on the Assessing Officer to be paid to the petitioner within two weeks. The Ministry of Law and Justice was directed to take necessary action based on the court's order.

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Issues:
Challenging notice under Section 148A(b) of the Income Tax Act, 1961 and subsequent order under Section 148A(d) for assessment year 2013-14. Violation of court order quashing previous notice under Section 148 for the same assessment year. Justification of the conduct of the Assessing Officer. Quashing of the impugned orders and imposition of costs.

Analysis:

The petitioner challenged the notice dated 26th May, 2022 under Section 148A(b) of the Income Tax Act, 1961, and the subsequent order dated 23rd July, 2022 under Section 148A(d) issued for the assessment year 2013-14. The petitioner contended that a previous notice under Section 148 for the same assessment year had been quashed by the Court in a prior order. The Court noted that the reassessment for the year had been completed before the newly inserted Section 148A came into effect in April 2021. The conduct of the Assessing Officer, Bitan Roy, was severely criticized for issuing the impugned notice in defiance of the Court's previous order, indicating contumacious behavior. The Court observed that the officer's actions seemed to be causing unnecessary harassment to the petitioner, leading to additional litigation costs incurred by both the petitioner and the Government.

The respondent, representing the Income Tax Authority, failed to provide a valid defense for the conduct of the Assessing Officer and the justification for issuing the impugned notice under Section 148A(b) and subsequent order under Section 148A(d) after the reassessment had already been completed long before the amendments to Section 148A and the relevant Supreme Court judgment. In light of these circumstances, the Court quashed the impugned orders dated 26th May, 2022 and 23rd July, 2022 under Section 148A(b) and Section 148A(d) respectively.

Consequently, the writ petition (WPO 213 of 2023) was allowed, and a cost of Rs. 10,000/- was imposed on the Assessing Officer, Mr. Bitan Roy. The Court directed the amount to be paid by Mr. Bitan Roy to the petitioner from his salary within two weeks. Additionally, the Ministry of Law and Justice was instructed to forward a copy of the order to the Principal Chief Commissioner of Income Tax - I, Kolkata for necessary action.

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