2021 (12) TMI 458

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....scribed under the statutory provisions. 3. Briefly the facts necessary for deciding the issue are, the assessee is a non-resident company incorporated under the laws of Singapore. For the impugned assessment year, the assessment in the case of the assessee was reopened under Section 147 of the Income-tax Act, 1961 (hereinafter referred to as 'the Act'). However, as alleged by the Assessing Officer, in response to notice issued under Section 148 of the Act and subsequent statutory notices, the assessee repeatedly sought adjournments. Therefore, the Assessing Officer proceeded to frame draft assessment order under Section 147 read with section 144C(1) of the Act on 18.12.2019, determining the total income of the assessee at Rs. 45,17,870/-....

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.... Departmental Representation submitted, the time limit for filing the objection before learned DRP was 17.01.2020, whereas, the assessee filed the objection on 27.01.2020. Therefore, as per section 144C(4)(b), the Assessing Officer should have passed the final assessment order within one month from the end of the month, in which period of filing of objection expires, i.e., by 28.02.2020. She submitted, before the Assessing Officer could have passed the final assessment order, the assessee filed objection before the learned DRP on 27.01.2020. She submitted, once the objection was filed before learned DRP, the Assessing Officer had no option but to wait for the directions of learned DRP before passing the final assessment order. She submitted....

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.... Section 144C of the Act, relevant for our purpose. They are as under: "Reference to dispute resolution panel. 144C. (1) The Assessing Officer shall, notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained in this Act, in the first instance, forward a draft of the proposed order of assessment (hereafter in this section referred to as the draft order) to the eligible assessee if he proposes to make, on or after the 1st day of October, 2009, any variation 95[***] which is prejudicial to the interest of such assessee. (2) On receipt of the draft order, the eligible assessee shall, within thirty days of the receipt by him of the draft order,- (a) file his acceptance of the variations to the Assessing Officer; or ....

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....ub-section (3) of Section 144C empowers the Assessing Officer to complete the assessment on the basis of draft assessment order under two circumstances; firstly, if the assessee intimates acceptance of the variation to the Assessing Officer or; secondly, if no objections are received within the period specified in sub-section (2) of Section 144C of the Act. Sub-section (4) of Section 144C, which has an overriding effect over sections 153 and 153B of the Act, mandates that the Assessing Officer must pass the final assessment order under sub-section (3) of section 144C within one month from the end of the month in which the acceptance by the assessee of the variation proposed in the draft assessment order is received or period of filing of ob....