TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
2008 (4) TMI 30
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....ted by the Officers of the Income Tax Department in the residence as also in the business premises of the assessee, his sons and other associates, consequent whereupon, it was proposed to transfer the cases pertaining to the assessee to the Income Tax (Inv.) Circle, Calicut to facilitate effective and coordinate investigation. An order was passed to that effect by the Chief Commissioner of Income Tax, Bangalore under Section 127(2) of the Act. A notice was issued by the Assessing Officer under Section 158BC of the Act to file a return setting forth the total income including the undisclosed income for the block period. The assessee filed a writ petition in the High Court of Karnataka challenging the said order of tra....
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....ot in dispute. It is further not in dispute that Chapter XIV-B shall apply in a case of this nature. Clause (a) of Section 158 B defines 'block period', which reads as under: "(a) "block period" means the period comprising previous years relevant to six assessment years preceding the previous year in which the search was conducted under Section 132 or any requisition was made under Section 132A and also includes the period upto the date of the commencement of such search or date of such requisition in the previous year in which the said search was conducted or requisition was made: Provided that where the search is initiated or the re....
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.... may, after giving the assessee a reasonable opportunity of being heard in the matter, wherever it is possible to do so, and after recording his reasons for doing so, transfer any case from one or more Assessing Officers subordinate to him (whether with or without concurrent jurisdiction) to any other Assessing Officer or Assessing Officers (whether with or without concurrent jurisdiction) also subordinate to him. (2) Where the Assessing Officer or Assessing Officers from whom the case is to be transferred and the Assessing Officer or Assessing Officers to whom the case is to be transferred are not subordinate to the same Director General or Chief Commissioner or Commissioner,- (a) Where the Directors General o....
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....h may have been completed on or before such date, and includes also all proceedings under this Act which may be commenced after the date of such order or direction in respect of any year. 9. An order of transfer is passed for the purpose of assessment of income. It serves a larger purpose. Such an order has to be passed in public interest. Only because in the said provision the words "any case" has been mentioned, the same, in our opinion, would not mean that an order of transfer cannot be passed in respect of cases involving more than one assessment year. It would not be correct to contend that only because explanation appended to Section 127 refers to the word 'case' for the purpose of ....
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....ipso facto hand over the records to the Assistant Commissioner, until he has been chosen to act as the Assessing Officer under Section 158BG. For doing so, a procedure for transfer of the records and the passing of orders to that effect is necessary for the records to be transferred to the officer selected under section 158BG. It is in this context that the provisions of Section 127 have to be resorted to. It is for such reason, we are unable to agree with learned standing counsel that Chapter XIV-B is a self-contained special provision relating to search procedures and assessments to which Section 127 has no application. The submission would have been correct if Section 127 and Chapter XIV-B were inconsistent with each ot....
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....th or without concurrent jurisdiction. Hence, even when the records are to be transmitted to the officer not higher in rank than the officer to whom the papers are handed over in the first instance under section 158BD, the provisions of section 127 are to be complied with to give notice." 11. We agree with the opinion of the Division Bench, but we may also notice that the provisions of Section 158BH had not been brought to its notice, which categorically states that all other provisions of the Act shall apply to assessment made under the said Chapter. Section 127 of the Act, which falls under Chapter XIII would therefore mutatis mutandis apply to Chapter XIVB particularly when the jurisdiction of the Income Tax Authorities, i....