TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
2024 (8) TMI 973
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....he JAO did not take into consideration the Assessment Order dated 20 December, 2019 passed under Section 143 (3) of the Act. This for the reason that the assessment order considers the very transaction which is the subject matter of the notice issued to the Petitioner under Section 148A(b), i.e., an amount of Rs.4 Crores deposited by the Petitioner in his bank account No.005013600000217 on 10 November, 2016, after demonetization. Significantly the Petitioner has annexed to the Petition, assessment order dated 20 December, 2019, wherein in paragraph 16, the Assessing Officer had taken into consideration such deposit and added the said amount to the Petitioner's income. Further the Petitioner being aggrieved by such order had approached the Commissioner of Income Tax Appeal (for short "CIT (A)") who passed an order dated 26 February, 2024 deleting such addition. All such material along with the documents was always available on the record of the department and the concerned Assessing Officer. The order of the CIT (A) has also been annexed to the petition. 2. The Petitioner's contention is that despite the order in appeal passed by the CIT (A), for the reason only known to the JAO,....
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....es Limited Vs. Assistant Commissioner of Income Tax & 4 Ors. (2024) 464 ITR 430. Also the sanction as accorded under Section 151 is without application of mind and/or mechanical. 7. A reply affidavit is filed to this Petition of Mr. Naresh Kumar, the JAO which has shocked our conscience. What surprises us is the approach of the JAO, when at the first instance he refuses to acknowledge the Petitioner's case in regard to the amount of Rs. 4 Crores already being considered on its merits in the assessment orders, wherein the JAO had added such amounts to the Petitioner's income. The assessment order is dated 20 December, 2019 in which the Assessing Officer in regard to the said amount has made the following observations:- 16. In view of above facts, the cash deposit amount of Rs. 4,00,00,000/- during FY 2016-17 in this is liable to be assessed as income u/s 69A r.w.s 115BBE of the I.T. Act for the reasons mentioned above. Accordingly, an amount of Rs. 4,00,00,000/- is hereby added to the total income of the assessee u/s 69A r.w.s. 115BBE of the Income-tax Act for the year under consideration. Further, addition in this case has been made u/s 69A of the Act, therefore, penalt....
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....the assessment order as also the orders passed by the CIT (A) which are on the amounts subject matter of the impugned notices. This position would be clear even to a layman, that there were prior proceedings qua the very same amounts being added to the Petitioner's income, and the subsequent deletion of these amounts by the appellate authority. In the reply affidavit, there is not a whisper of acknowledgment to these facts, much less any statement in denial, on case made out by the Petitioner so as to point out to the Court as to how these orders would not be relevant in the context of the notice issued when the amount of Rs.4 Crores being the deposited in the very same account, was subject matter of consideration and assessment in passing the assessment order as noted by us hereinabove. All this indicates that the deponent has not only shown total discourtesy but also was callous much less not truthful in his approach, to file such affidavit before the Court. Being the JAO, the deponent was certainly required to discharge his duties in accordance with law, when he is supposed to wield such enormous powers, conferred on him in law. Such power is coupled with an onerous public duty ....
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....tors who function under the jurisdiction of the Tribunal. The principles of judicial discipline require that the orders of the higher appellate authorities should be followed unreservedly by the subordinate authorities. The mere fact that the order of the appellate authority is not "acceptable" to the department - in itself an objectionable phrase - and is the subject matter of an appeal can furnish no ground for not following it unless its operation has been suspended by a competent court. If this healthy rule is not followed, the result will only be undue harassment to assessees and chaos in administration of tax laws. ***** 12. We have dealt with this aspect at some length, because it has been suggested by the learned Additional Solicitor General that the observations made by the High Court, have been harsh on the officers. It is clear that the observations of the High Court, seemingly vehement, and apparently unpalatable to the Revenue, are only intended to curb a tendency in revenue matters which, if allowed to become widespread, could result in considerable harassment to the assesses-public without any benefit to the Revenue. We would like to say that the de....
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....order sheet for issuance of the impugned notice. There is no explanation whatsoever as to why such materials which were on the record of the department were not considered and dealt in according such approval. It thus appears that the Chief Commissioner of Income Tax has also acted without application of mind, this has clearly caused prejudice and harassment to the Petitioner. Nowhere the provisions of the Act would justify such action permitting the Chief Commissioner to exercise powers under Section 151 in such manner. In fact in exercising authority in such manner, the whole purpose of a sanction under Section 151 stands defeated, which would be actions against the object and spirit of the provisions of law resulting in civil consequences. It appears that in the present proceedings the Chief Commissioner has also acted, with quite a haste. For all these reasons, we are more than sure that this is a fit case, where not only the reliefs as prayed by the Petitioner are required to be granted, but also the brazen untenable stand of the Respondents on what has been observed hereinabove needs to be deprecated. The JAO has refused to acknowledge the orders passed by the CIT (A) involvi....