Can statement in summons u/s 131 be recorded at Home or office as camp office

[RAJESH SANGHVI]

The assessee is served with a summon u/s 131 and the place where is called upon to record his statement is his own residence or office treated as the camp office by the IT dept. Is this permitted.

One judgement of Prakash Singhvi vs Ramesh G -(2013) 259 CTR 0143 = 2013 (10) TMI 1032 - KARNATAKA HIGH COURT (Kar HC) dt: 20-3-13 , is in favour of the assessee. Camp office is not allowed.

But I understand that in Further Writ appeal 3014 / 13 = 2015 (12) TMI 1125 - KARNATAKA HIGH COURT the division bench of Kar HC has overruled this judgement. Hence now the situation is in favour of the IT dept and camp office is permitted.

Under the guise of serving & recording statement u/s 131, factually surveys u/s 133A or mild ( typical term by me ) searches u/s 132 ( No seizure ) , esp after demonetisation, are carried out an hence this provision of Sec 131 gets misused.

Any inputs

AI Summary

Statement recording under section 131: camp offices may be treated as valid places, altering where summons can be complied with. The core issue is whether a summon to record an assessee's statement under Section 131 can validly be served and the statement recorded at the assessee's residence or at the assessee's office treated as a camp office. Conflicting High Court rulings exist: an earlier decision disallowed camp offices, while a later division bench reportedly permitted them; concerns are raised about misuse of the provision as a guise for surveys or non-seizure searches.