TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
2024 (1) TMI 759
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....23 & CM Appl. 11170/2023, W.P.(C) 2876/2023, W.P.(C) 2898/2023, W.P.(C) 2967/2023, W.P.(C) 3001/2023, W.P.(C) 3009/2023, W.P.(C) 3160/2023, W.P.(C) 3171/2023, W.P.(C) 3295/2023 & CM Apl.12817/2023, W.P.(C) 3335/2023, W.P.(C) 3338/2023, W.P.(C) 3414/2023, W.P.(C) 3546/2023, W.P.(C) 3677/2023, W.P.(C) 3678/2023, W.P.(C) 3877/2023, W.P.(C) 3880/2023, W.P.(C) 3881/2023, W.P.(C) 3882/2023, W.P.(C) 3893/2023 & CM Nos. 15110-11/2023, W.P.(C) 3894/2023, CM Nos. 15112/2023 & 42622/2023, W.P.(C) 3896/2023 & CM No.30261/2023, W.P.(C) 3997/2023 & CM No.743/2024 Twylight Infrastructure Pvt Ltd, Arun Garg, R.P. Basia & Co, Sushma Goel, Ada News In Shorts Pvt Ltd, Abhinav Jindal, Mangla Gupta, Vanita Gulati, Smt. Santosh Garg, Rahul Goel, Ms Ramsons, E-Square Alliance Pvt. Ltd., Rajeev Goel Huf, Asp Developers Private Limited, Santosh Infratech Private Limited, Nalini Gulati, Sangita Garg, Archna Khatri, Gamut Commercials Private Limited, Srkk Associates Private Limited, Khanna Coir Products Limited, Brij Mohan Barwal, Oss Infocom Private Limited, Sonia Barwal, Alok Infra.Builders Private Limited, Israr Ali Khan, Vijay Khemka, Vishal Jewellers, Saurav Bansal, Azam Ahmed, Kailash Rani, Rakesh S....
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....el with Mr Akshat Singh, Jr Standing Counsel in W.P.(C)Nos.1566/2023, 720/2023, 1705/2023, 2812/2023, 3171/2023, 3546/2023, 3893/2023 & 3896/2023. Mr Gaurav Gupta, Sr Standing Counsel with Mr Puneett Singhal and Mr Shivendra Singh, Jr Standing Counsels in W.P.(C)Nos.2876/2023, 2898/2023, 3677/2023 & 3678/2023. Mr Kunal Sharma, Sr Standing Counsel with Ms Zehra Khan, Jr Standing Counsel along with Mr Shubhendu Bhattacharya, Adv. In W.P.(C)Nos.2967/2023, 3009/2023 & 4001/2023 Mr Aseem Chawla, Sr Standing Counsel with Ms Anuja Pethia, Mr Subhasish Kumar and Ms Pratishtha Chaudhary, Advs. In W.P.(C)No.3001/2023 & 2449/2023. Mr Shailendera Singh, Sr Standing Counsel with Ms Dacchita Shahi and Mr Akash Saxena, Advs. in W.P.(C) 3414/2023. Mr Sanjay Kumar, Sr Standing Counsel with Ms Easha, Adv. For respondent in W.P.(C)No.3160/2023, 1006/2023, 119/2023 & 387/2023. Mr Zoheb Hossain, Sr Standing Counsel with Mr Sanjeev Menon, Standing Counsel for respondent in W.P.(C)No.1543/2023 & 992/2023. Mr Vipul Agrawal, Sr Standing Counsel with Mr Gibran Naushad and Ms Sakshi Shairwal, Advs. for W.P.(C) nos.992, 3997, 5973, 5990, 6256, 6967, 7169, 7443/2023. Mr Ruchir Bhatia, Sr Standing Counsel with ....
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.... on 18.05.2023, inter alia, raising the issue with regard the approval of the specified authority being absent. 3.7. The petition came up for hearing before a coordinate bench [which included one of us i.e., Rajiv Shakdher J.] on 25.05.2023 and it was directed that there shall be a stay on the continuation of reassessment proceedings. 3.8. Thereafter, the petition was listed with the above-captioned batch of petitions on several dates and arguments were heard on behalf of the assessees and the revenue. 4. Counsel for the parties state that the reassessment proceedings were triggered by an authority not specified, as per the provisions of Section 151(ii) of the Income Tax Act, 1961 [in short, "Act"]. 4.1. In defence of the writ petitions, the revenue, inter alia, has relied upon Taxation and Other Laws (Relaxation and Amendment of Certain Provisions) Act, 2020 [in short, "TOLA"] and paragraphs 6.1 and 6.2(ii) of the Instruction No. 1 of 2022 dated 11.05.2022 issued by the Central Board of Direct Taxes [in short, "CBDT"]. 5. In Ganesh Dass Khanna v. Income Tax Officer & Anr. 2023: DHC: 8187-DB, we have ruled in favour of the assessees and against the revenue insofar as....
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....on the 30th day of September, 2005, in response to a notice served under this section, and (b) subsequently a notice has been served under clause (ii) of sub-section (2) of section 143 after the expiry of twelve months specified in the proviso to clause (ii) of sub-section (2) of section 143, but before the expiry of the time limit for making the assessment, reassessment or recomputation as specified in sub-section (2) of section 153, every such notice referred to in this clause shall be deemed to be a valid notice.... xxx xxx xxx 149. (1) No notice under section 148 shall be issued for the relevant assessment year,- (a) if four years have elapsed from the end of the relevant assessment year, unless the case falls under clause (b) or clause (c); (b) if four years, but not more than six years, have elapsed from the end of the relevant assessment year unless the income chargeable to tax which has escaped assessment amounts to or is likely to amount to one lakh rupees or more for that year; (c) if four years, but not more than sixteen years, have elapsed from the end of the relevant assessment year unless the income in relation to ....
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....ng Officer has obtained prior approval of the specified authority to issue such notice... xxx xxx xxx 149. (1) No notice under section 148 shall be issued for the relevant assessment year- (a) if three years have elapsed from the end of the relevant assessment year, unless the case falls under clause (b); (b) if three years, but not more than ten years, have elapsed from the end of the relevant assessment year unless the Assessing Officer has in his possession books of account or other documents or evidence which reveal that the income chargeable to tax, represented in the form of asset, which has escaped assessment amounts to or is likely to amount to fifty lakh rupees or more for that year... xxx xxx xxx 151. Specified authority for the purposes of section 148 and section 148A shall be,- (i) Principal Commissioner or Principal Director or Commissioner or Director, if three years or less than three years have elapsed from the end of the relevant assessment year; (ii) Principal Chief Commissioner or Principal Director General or where there is no Principal Chief Commissioner or Principal Director Ge....
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....essment proceedings. Thus, if three (3) years or less have elapsed from the end of the relevant AY, the specified authority who would grant approval for initiation of reassessment proceedings will be the Principal Commissioner or Principal Director or Commissioner or Director. However, if more than three (3) years from the end of the relevant AY have elapsed, the specified authority for according approval for reassessment shall be the Principal Chief Commissioner or Principal Director General or, where there is no Principal Chief Commissioner or Principal Director General, Chief Commissioner or Director General. 12.2. That the approval is mandatory is plainly evident on perusal of the first proviso appended to Section 148 of the Act. the said proviso, at the risk of repetition, reads as follows: "...Provided that no notice under this section shall be issued unless there is information with the Assessing Officer which suggests that the income chargeable to tax has escaped assessment in the case of the assessee for the relevant assessment year and the Assessing Officer has obtained prior approval of the specified authority to issue such notice...." 12.3. In these cases....