TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
2023 (3) TMI 564
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.... 2022 under Section 148A(b) of the Act as also the Order passed in terms of Section 148A(d) of the Act. 2. Briefly stated the material facts are as under : The Petitioner filed his return as an individual for the assessment year 2018-19 under Section 139(1) of the Act. The return was processed under Section 143(1). 3. Subsequently, a notice under Section 148A(b) of the Act dated 8 March 2022 was issued by Respondent No.1 suggesting that income liable to tax for the assessment year 2018-19 had escaped assessment and called upon the Petitioner to show cause as to why notice under Section 148 be not issued. The basis for reopening was the information, which reads as under : "1. In your case information has been received....
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....respect to the above, it shall be presumed that you nothing to say in the matter and the same will be dealt as per the provisions of the Income Tax Act, 1961." 4. This show cause notice was replied by a communication dated 14 March 2022, wherein the Petitioner totally denied that there was any transaction with BGR Construction LLP and that no warehouse had been booked or payment made to the said entity. The Petitioner also denied any 'on-money cash transaction' with the said entity and therefore, demanded that the proceedings initiated under Section 147 of the Act be dropped. 5. On 21 March 2022, the assessing officer issued a clarification in regard to the notice under Section 148A(b), this time, stating therein that the Petitioner h....
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....e revenue that there was sufficient material with the assessing officer that the assessee had purchased a warehouse from BGR Construction LLP of Rs.70,00,000/-. That this fact was verified from the regular books of account of the said entity. That the name of the Petitioner had also figured in the said list of investors. It was, therefore, urged that the assessing officer was justified to reopen the assessment on the ground that income had escaped assessment based on the said material. 7. Heard learned Counsel for the parties. 8. The main ground of challenge as was urged by Mr. Walve, learned Counsel for the Petitioner during the course of hearing can be summarized as under: It was urged that the procedure as prescribed under....
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....e notices within two weeks thereafter;" 11. Mr. Walve, stated that in the present case the revenue had independently issued a notice to the Petitioner in terms of Section 148A(b) of the Act in accordance with the provisions of the Finance Act, 2021 and was not a case where notices issued under Section 148 under the old provisions were to be treated as notices issued under Section 148A(b) under the substituted provisions, which came into effect from 01st April 2021. It was urged that the requirement of Section 148A(b) of the Act has clearly been spelt out in the direction supra, which envisages that not only information be provided to the Petitioner but also the material relied upon by the revenue for purposes of making it possible to fil....
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....y the Supreme Court in the case of Union of India V/s. Ashish Agarwal. 12. Two other arguments were raised by Mr. Walve during the course of argument, pertaining to the failure on the part of the assessing officer to obtain the prior approval from the specified authority before issuing the clarification communication dated 21st March 2022, as also the fact that the assessing officer ought to have first conducted an inquiry in terms of Section 148A(a) of the Act. However, we do not deem it absolutely necessary to deal with these issues in the present petition. Be that as it may, we hold that the reassessment proceedings initiated are unsustainable on the the ground of violation of the procedure prescribed under Section 148A(b) of the Act ....