High Court invalidates Income Tax Notice for 2016-2017 due to lack of proper approval

The High Court of Calcutta, in a judgment by Justice MD. Nizamuddin, invalidated the approval granted by the principal CIT -9, Kolkata under Section 151(ii) of the Income Tax Act for issuing a notice under Section 148A(b) for the assessment year 2016-2017. The Court found that the approval was not granted by the appropriate authority as required by law, rendering the notice and subsequent proceedings invalid. The Court quashed the notice but allowed the Income Tax authorities to initiate fresh proceedings in the future. The writ petition (WPA 25770 of 2022) was disposed of with these directions, and the record submitted by Mr. Dutt was to be kept for reference.

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Issues:
Validity of approval under Section 151(ii) of the Income Tax Act for issuance of notice under Section 148A(b) for assessment year 2016-2017.

Analysis:
The judgment by the High Court of Calcutta, delivered by Justice MD. Nizamuddin, pertained to the validity of approval granted by the principal CIT -9, Kolkata under Section 151(ii) of the Income Tax Act for the issuance of a notice under Section 148A(b) for the assessment year 2016-2017. The petitioner contended that the approval granted by the principal CIT -9 was not by the appropriate authority as required under the law. Upon review of the record and the instructions submitted by Mr. Dutt, representing the respondent, the Court found that the approval was indeed granted by an authority that did not fall under Section 151(ii) of the Act. Consequently, the Court held that the approval was not sustainable in law, rendering the impugned notice under Section 148A(b) and all subsequent proceedings invalid. As a result, the Court quashed the impugned notice and subsequent proceedings.

Moreover, the judgment clarified that the quashing of the notice and subsequent proceedings did not prevent the Income Tax authorities from initiating fresh proceedings in the future in accordance with the law. The Court disposed of the writ petition, numbered as WPA 25770 of 2022, with the aforementioned observations and directions. Additionally, the Court ordered that the record submitted by Mr. Dutt should be kept with the official record for reference. This comprehensive analysis highlights the key legal issues addressed in the judgment and the Court's decision regarding the validity of the approval for the notice under the Income Tax Act.

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