TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
2024 (9) TMI 744
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....mpugned order' and 'impugned notice') respectively, whereby, the income of the petitioner is sought to be reassessed on the ground that petitioner has not substantiated the source of cash and credit deposit of Rs. 2,48,83,439/- during the Assessment Year ["AY"] 2014-15. 2. The principal challenge is to the initiation of reassessment in terms of a notice issued under Section 148 of the Act dated 20.07.2022 for the AY 2014-15. For the purpose of disposal of the present writ petition, we deem it apposite to take note of the following essential facts:- 3. Petitioner is the proprietor of M/s. JMK Enterprises, which is engaged in dealing in electronic goods and components. Petitioner filed its return of income for the AY 2014-15 on 29.11.20....
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....sessment, which had preceded the proposed action for reassessment. 7. Obviously, in this case, the right of the respondent to reopen the concluded assessment is based on a perceived reading of the decision of the Supreme Court in Ashish Agarwal (supra), wherein, the Supreme Court proceeded to frame the following operative directions: "28. In view of the above and for the reasons stated above, the present appeals are allowed in part. The impugned common judgments and orders [Ashok Kumar Agarwal v. Union of India, 2021 SCC OnLine All 799] passed by the High Court of Judicature at Allahabad in WT No. 524 of 2021 and other allied tax appeals/petitions, is/are hereby modified and substituted as under: 28.1. The impugned Sect....
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....l defences which may be available to the assessees including those available under Section 149 of the IT Act and all rights and contentions which may be available to the assessees concerned and Revenue under the Finance Act, 2021 and in law shall continue to be available. The assessing officers shall thereafter pass orders in terms of Section 148-A (d) in respect of each of the assessees concerned; Thereafter after following the procedure as required under Section 148-A may issue notice under Section 148 (as substituted)." 8. While relying upon to the judgment of Ashish Agarwal (supra), learned counsel for the respondent has submitted that the assessment proceedings completed on 26.03.2022 in pursuance of notice under Section 148 of the ....
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.... Delhi & Ors. 2024 SCC On Line Del. 2296, the observation of the Court in this case was as follows:- "23. As we read the penultimate directions which came to be framed, the procedure laid out in Ashish Agarwal clearly stood confined to matters where although notices may have been issued, proceedings were yet to have attained finality. This clearly flows from the impugned notices being ordained to be treated as show cause notices under Section 148A (b) and the concomitant liberty being accorded to AOs' to proceed further in accordance with Section 148A (d). As we read that decision, we find ourselves unable to construe those directions as either warranting or mandating a reopening of proceedings which had come to be rendered a quiet....
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....take advantage of the beneficial measures embodied in Section 148A. The assessee thus derived a right to assail the initiation of reassessment proceedings on jurisdictional grounds by preferring objections which the AO was statutorily obliged to take into consideration before issuing notices under Section 148 of the Act. The Revenue on the other hand, and notwithstanding its folly of having erroneously proceeded under the erstwhile regime, was enabled to continue proceedings in accordance with the amended procedure as introduced by virtue of Finance Act, 2021 and thus avoid the specter of a fait accompli which it faced on account of some of the High Court decisions. This is apparent from the Supreme Court observing that the judgments render....
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....ve that the Revenue should have been "permitted to proceed further with the reassessment proceedings as per the substituted provisions......". Our view of the judgement being confined to proceedings at the stage of notice is further fortified from the Supreme Court providing in para 8 of the report that "The respective impugned Section 148 notices issued to the respective assessees shall be deemed to have been issued under section 148A of the Income Tax Act as substituted by Finance Act, 2021 and treated to be show cause notices in terms of Section 148A (b)." As would be manifest from the aforesaid extract, the emphasis clearly was on the notices which formed the subject matter of challenge before various High Courts' and the aim of the Sup....