TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
2022 (8) TMI 92
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....6-3- 2019 declaring the total income at Rs.43,14,13,840/-. It has also been stated that the company is maintaining regular books of account as per Companies Act, 2013 and also under Section 44AB of the Act, 1961 through independent auditor wherein the financial statement is also prepared. It has been contended that regular assessment for assessment year 2018-2019 was completed under Section 143 (3) of the Act, 1961 and total income was determined as per return determining demand payable at Rs. Nil. Thereafter, respondent No.4 has issued notice under Clause (b) of Section 148A of the Act 1961 on 24-3-2022 (Annexure P/5) wherein the Assessing Authority has mentioned about the credible information which is extracted below. "Consequent to the information under High Risk CRIU/VRU cases obtained from insight portal, this office is in possession of information that M/s Panveen Trading Private Limited has certain transaction with you. Ms. Panveen Trading Private Limited has shown sale of Rs.2,20,00,275/- to Barbik Project Limited during the financial year 2017-2018. However, on the basis of credible information is received that M/s Valeska Trading Private Limited, M/s Panveer Trading Pri....
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.... under consideration within the meaning of Section 147 read with Section 148 of the Act, 1961 and recorded a finding that it is a fit case to issue notice under Section 148 of the Act, 1961. In pursuance of the order passed under Section 148A and after recording a finding that there is escaped amount, the Assessing Authority has issued notice under Section 148 of the Act, 1961 on 31-3-2022 by giving the petitioner 30 days' time from service of this notice to subsist reply. The aforesaid notice issued under Section 148 of the Act, 1961 and order passed under Section 148A(d) of the Act, 1961 are being challenged by filing the instant writ petition under Article 226 of the Constitution of India. 5. Learned counsel for the petitioner would submit that as per Section 148A(d) of the Act, 1961, it is incumbent on the Assessing Authority to consider the reply of the assessee furnished, if any, in response to the show cause notice referred to in Clause (b), to decide on the basis of material available on record including the reply of the assessee, it is a fit case to issue notice under Section 148 of the Act,, 1961 by passing an order with approval of the assessing authority within a perio....
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....e. Section 148-A of the Act, 1961 has been made effective from 1-4-2021 by financial year 2021. Section 148A provides conducting inquiry, providing opportunity before issue of notice under Section 148 of the Act, 1961. Section 148-A and 149 of the Income Tax Act, 1961 read as under. "148A. The Assessing Officer shall, before issuing any notice under section 148, - Advertisement (a) conduct any enquiry, if required, with the prior approval of specified authority, with respect to the information which suggests that the income chargeable to tax has escaped assessment; (b) provide an opportunity of being heard to the assessee, by serving upon him a notice to show cause within such time, as may be specified in the notice, being not less than seven days and but not exceeding thirty days from the date on which such notice is issued, or such time, as may be extended by him on the basis of an application in this behalf, as to why a notice under section 148 should not be issued on the basis of information which suggests that income chargeable to tax has escaped assessment in his case for the relevant assessment year and results of enquiry conducted, if any, as per clause (a); ( c)....
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....set; (ii) expenditure in respect of a transaction or in relation to an event or occasion; or (iii) an entry or entries in the books of account, which has escaped assessment amounts to or is likely to amount to fifty lakh rupees or more: Provided that no notice under section 148 shall be issued at any time in a case for the relevant assessment year beginning on or before 1st day of April, 2021, if a notice under section 148 or section 153A or section 153C could not have been issued at that time on account of being beyond the time limit specified under the provisions of clause (b) of sub-section (1) of this section or section 153A or section 153C, as the case may be, as they stood immediately before the commencement of the Finance Act, 2021: Provided further that the provisions of this sub-section shall not apply in a case, where a notice under section 153A, or section 153C read with section 153A, is required to be issued in relation to a search initiated under section 132 or books of account, other documents or any assets requisitioned under section 132A, on or before the 31st day of March, 2021: Provided also that for the purposes of computing the period of limitation as p....
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....sing Officer is of the opinion that before any notice is issued under section 148A(b) and an opportunity is to be given to the assessee, there is a requirement of conducting any enquiry, the assessing Officer may do so and conduct any enquiry. Thus if the assessing Officer is of the opinion that any enquiry is required, the assessing Officer can do so, however, with the prior approval of the specified authority, with respect to the information which suggests that the income chargeable to tax has escaped assessment. 6.6 Substituted section 149 is the provision governing the time limit for issuance of notice under section 148 of the IT Act. The substituted section 149 of the IT Act has reduced the permissible time limit for issuance of such a notice to three years and only in exceptional cases ten years. It also provides further additional safeguards which were absent under the earlier regime pre Finance Act, 2021. 7. Thus, the new provisions substituted by the Finance Act, 2021 being remedial and benevolent in nature and substituted with a specific aim and object to protect the rights and interest of the assessee as well as and the same being in public interest, the respective....
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....ly, before the expiry of the period for re-assessment, the assessment order was passed on 28-9-2021. 15. Thus, in view of the facts given above, we find that it is not such a case where a writ petition can be maintained directly challenging the assessment/reassessment order. The judgment of the Hon'ble Apex Court in GKN Driveshafts (India) Ltd. vs. ITO (259 ITR 19 (SC) case has been applied. For ready reference, the relevant portion of the said judgment is extracted hereunder. "5. We see no justifiable reason to interfere with the order under challenge. However, we clarify that when a notice under Section 148 of the Act is issued, the proper course of action for the noticee is to file return and if he so desires, to seek reasons for issuing notices. The AO is bound to furnish reasons within reasonable time. On receipts of reasons, the noticee is entitled to file objections to issuance of notice and the AO is bound to dispose of the same by passing a speaking order. In the instant case, as the reasons have been disclosed in these proceedings, the AO has to dispose of the objections, if filed, by passing a speaking order before proceeding with the assessment in respect of the a....
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....er of Income Tax and Ors.Vs. Chhabil Das Agarwal, (2014) 1 SCC 603 has held that as the Income Tax Act, 1961 provides complete machinery for assessment / reassessment of tax, assessee is not permitted to abandon that machinery and invoke jurisdiction of High Court under Article 226. Consequently, the present case does not fall under the exceptional grounds on which a writ petition is maintainable at the interim stage in tax matters. [See: Ghanashyam Mishra And Sons Private Limited Vs. Edelweiss Assetre Construction Company Limited, (2021) 9 SCC 657 and M/ S Radha Krishan Industries vs. State of Himachal Pradesh and Ors, (2021) 6 SCC 771]. 7. Accordingly, the present writ petition along with pending application stands dismissed with liberty to the petitioner to raise all its grounds before the Assessing Officer and the subordinate forums". 14. The grounds which have been taken by the petitioner in the writ petition is his defence that cannot be examined at the stage of issuance of notice under section 148 of the Act,1961 as the Assessing Authority before issuance of notice under Section 148 of the Act, 1961 has to rely upon credible information which in the impugned order under....