Court sets aside challenged Order and Notice under Income Tax Act due to non-existent company post-amalgamation.

The court set aside the challenged Order and Notice under Section 148A(d) of the Income Tax Act, 1961 and Section 148 for AY 2014-15, as they were issued in the name of a non-existent company post-amalgamation. The Respondent acknowledged the non-existence of the company and allowed the petitioners to seek remedies if aggrieved by any subsequent actions. The petition was disposed of, granting the respondents/revenue the opportunity to take further steps within the bounds of the law.

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Issues:
Challenge to Order under Section 148A(d) of the Income Tax Act, 1961 and Notice issued under Section 148 for AY 2014-15 due to being in the name of a non-existent company post-amalgamation.

Analysis:
The petitioner challenged the Order and Notice issued under Section 148A(d) of the Income Tax Act, 1961, and Section 148 for the Assessment Year 2014-15, contending that they were void ab initio as they were in the name of a company, Sare Marketing Private Limited, which had been amalgamated with the petitioner company, Sumant Investments Private Ltd., as per a court order dated 19th September 2014 under Sections 391-394 of the Companies Act, 1956. The petitioner argued that Sare Marketing Private Limited ceased to exist post-amalgamation, and thus, the impugned Order and Notice were invalid.

The petitioner informed the Respondent about the amalgamation through various responses to notices issued under Section 148 of the Act. Despite this, the Respondent proceeded to pass the impugned order under Section 148A(d) in the name of Sare Marketing Private Limited, disregarding the amalgamation. The petitioner highlighted that an assessment order for the previous year had been passed considering the amalgamation, emphasizing the non-existence of Sare Marketing Private Limited since the amalgamation.

Upon receiving instructions from the Assessing Officer, it was acknowledged that the entity Sare Marketing Private Limited was not in existence at the time of issuing the notices under Section 148A(b) and Section 148 of the Income Tax Act, 1961. Consequently, the impugned Order and Notice were set aside. The judgment allowed the respondents/revenue to take further steps if permitted by law, with the petitioners retaining the right to seek remedies in accordance with the law if aggrieved by any subsequent actions taken by the respondents. As a result, the present writ petition and application were disposed of accordingly.

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