Unsigned tax sanction and retrospective statutory insertion required fresh writ consideration with opportunity to address applicability.

Absence of a physical signature on sanction under Section 151 of the Income-tax Act was examined in the context of paperless authentication through a DIN, while the retrospective insertion of Section 292BC raised a further procedural issue. The court did not finally decide the unsigned-sanction point on merits in the appeal, and held that any reliance on Section 292BC required appropriate pleadings and a reasonable opportunity to meet that contention in the writ proceedings. The writ order was therefore set aside and the writ petition restored for fresh consideration, with liberty to raise the retrospective-applicability issue.

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Issues: Whether the absence of a signature on the sanction granted under Section 151 of the Income-tax Act, 1961 vitiated the reassessment proceedings, and whether the matter required remand in view of the subsequent insertion of Section 292BC of the Act with retrospective effect.

Analysis: The dispute turned on compliance with Section 151 of the Income-tax Act, 1961 and whether approval in a paperless environment, authenticated through a DIN, could stand without a physical signature. During the pendency of the appeal, Section 292BC was inserted with retrospective effect, and its impact on the controversy was held to require reconsideration on appropriate pleadings. The respondent could not be permitted to raise fresh pleas on retrospective applicability in the appeal itself, and if Section 292BC was to be relied upon, a reasonable opportunity had to be afforded to address its applicability in the writ proceedings.

Conclusion: The unsigned sanction issue was not finally adjudicated on merits in the appeal, and the proper course was to set aside the writ order and restore the writ petition for fresh consideration, with liberty to raise the applicability of Section 292BC.

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