TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
2025 (3) TMI 1277
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.... 92,44,66,677 Less 1.Expenses on object of the trust) 51,77,58,568 2.Accumulation u/s 11(1)(a) @ 15% (to the extent income available) 6,09,06,149 59,59,66,677 3.Capital expenditure 1,73,01,960 TOTAL INCOME 32,85,00,000 ROUNDED OFF TO 32,85,00,000 10. Assessed u/s. 143 (3) rws 144B of the I.T.Act, 1961. Credit is given for taxes paid after due verification. Computation of tax and interest is as per ITNS-150 which forms a part of this order. Demand notice/refund is issued accordingly. Issue penalty notice u/s. 270A for under reporting of income." 3. The specific case of the petitioner is that the petitioner has made an application before the 2nd respondent namely the Joint Commissioner under Section 144A of the Income Tax Act, 1961, for issuance of such direction as he may think fit for the guidance of the Assessing Officer to enable him to complete the Assessment. 4. It is submitted that Section 144A of the Income Tax Act, 1961 was inserted with effect from 01.04.2021 and is a complete ....
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....e under Article 226 of the Constitution of India, as the Petitioner has an alternate remedy by way of an appeal under Section 246A of the Income Tax Act, 1961. 12. That apart, the learned Senior Standing Counsel for the respondents would submit that in view of the amendments to the provisions of the Income Tax Act, 1961 particularly in view of Section 144B of the Income Tax Act, 1961, Section 144A has become redundant. 13. It is further submitted that the reassessment proceedings commenced as early as on 22.09.2019 with the issuance of notice under Section 143(2) of the Income Tax Act, 1961. However, the petitioner has filed an application under Section 144A of the Income Tax Act, 1961 only on 13.09.2021 i.e., few days before the impugned Assessment Order was passed on 28.09.2021. 14. It is therefore, submitted that the 1st respondent cannot be found fault for passing orders on 28.09.2021. 15. The learned Senior Standing Counsel for the respondents would submit further that in the light of the amendment to Income Tax Act with incorporation Section 144B on 01.04.2021, the requirement for a direction from the Joint Commissioner and the Assistant Commissioner as the case m....
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....ed as exemplary costs. 23. I have considered the arguments advanced by the learned counsel for the petitioner and the learned counsel for the respondent. 24. In this case, a notice dated 22.9.2019 under section 143 (2) of the Income Tax Act, 1961 was issued to the petitioner. This was in response to the Return of Income filed by the petitioner on 01.10.2018. In the aforesaid notice, it has been clearly stated that the petitioner may submit its response with supporting documents (if any) on the issues mentioned therein with the Assessing Officer electronically in "e- Proceedings" facility account in e-filing website at its convenience on or before 7.10.2019. 25. The said notice also encloses at note on "e-Proceeding". This was at the time when the petitioner was to be assessed by the Jurisdictional Assessing Officer under the provisions of E-Assessment proceeding 2019 read with the provisions of the Income Tax Act, 1961 as it stood then. 26. However, during the interregnum, the method of assessment under the provisions of the Income Tax Act, 1961 underwent a change with the incorporation of Section 144B into the Income Tax Act, 1961 with effect from 01.04.2021 vide Taxat....
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.... seeking technical assistance from the technical unit; (vi) where a request for obtaining further information, documents or evidence from the assessee or any other person has been made by the assessment unit, the National Faceless Assessment Centre shall issue appropriate notice or requisition to the assessee or any other person for obtaining the information, documents or evidence requisitioned by the assessment unit; (vii) the assessee or any other person, as the case may be, shall file his response to the notice referred to in clause (vi), within the time application in this regard, to the National Faceless Assessment Centre; (vii) where a request for conducting of certain enquiry or verification by the verification unit has been made by the assessment unit, the request verification by the National Faceless Assessment Centre to a verification unit in any one Regional Faceless Assessment Centre through an automated allocation system; (ix) where a request for seeking technical assistance from the technical unit has been made by the assessment unit, the request shall be assigned by the National Faceless Assessment Centre to a technical un....
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....sed, as per the draft assessment order and serve a copy of such order and notice for initiating penalty proceedings, if any, to the assessee, along with the demand notice, specifying the sum payable by, or refund of any amount due to, the assessee on the basis of such assessment; or (b) provide an opportunity to the assessee, in case any variation prejudicial to the interest of assessee is proposed, by serving a notice calling upon him to show cause as to why the proposed variation should not be made; or (c) assign the draft assessment order to a review unit in any one Regional Faceless Assessment Centre, through an automated allocation system, for conducting review of such order; (xvii) the review unit shall conduct review of the draft assessment order referred to it by the National Faceless Assessment Centre whereupon it may decide to- (a) concur with the draft assessment order and intimate the National Faceless Assessment Centre about such concurrence; or (b) suggest such variation, as it may deem fit, in the draft assessment order and send its suggestions to the National Faceless Assessment Centre; (xviii) the National Facel....
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....tre shall, upon receiving the revised draft assessment order,- (a) in case the variations proposed in the revised draft assessment order are not prejudicial to the interest of the assessee in comparison to the draft assessment order or the final draft assessment order, and- (A) in case the revised draft assessment order is in respect of an eligible assessee and there is any variation prejudicial to the interest of the assessee proposed in draft assessment order or the final draft assessment order, forward the said revised draft assessment order to such assessee; (B) in any other case, finalise the assessment as per the revised draft assessment order and serve a copy of such order and notice for initiating penalty proceedings, if any, to the assessee, alongwith the demand notice, specifying the sum payable by, or refund of any amount due to, the assessee on the basis of such assessment; (b) in case the variations proposed in the revised draft assessment order are prejudicial to the interest of the assessee in comparison to the draft assessment order or the final draft assessment order, provide an opportunity to the assessee, by serving a notice ca....
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....Centre shall, after completion of assessment, transfer all the electronic records of the case to the Assessing Officer having jurisdiction over the said case for such action as may be required under the Act. (2) The faceless assessment under sub-section (1) shall be made in respect of such territorial area, or persons or class of persons, or incomes or class of incomes, or cases or class of cases, as may be specified by the Board. (3) The Board may, for the purposes of faceless assessment, set up the following Centres and units and specify their respective jurisdiction, namely:- (i) a National Faceless Assessment Centre to facilitate the conduct of faceless assessment proceedings in a centralised manner, which shall be vested with the jurisdiction to make faceless assessment; (ii) Regional Faceless Assessment Centres, as it may deem necessary, to facilitate the conduct of faceless assessment proceedings in the cadre controlling region of a Principal Chief Commissioner, which shall be vested with the jurisdiction to make faceless assessment; (iii) assessment units, as it may deem necessary to facilitate the conduct of faceless assessment,....
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....tant, as considered necessary by the Board. (5) All communication among the assessment unit, review unit, verification unit or technical unit or with the assessee or any other person with respect to the information or documents or evidence or any other details, as may be necessary for the purposes of making a faceless assessment shall be through the National Faceless Assessment Centre; (6) All communications between the National Faceless Assessment Centre and the assessee, or his authorised representative, or any other person shall be exchanged exclusively by electronic mode; and all internal communications between the National Faceless Assessment Centre, Regional Faceless Assessment Centres and various units shall be exchanged exclusively by electronic mode: Provided that the provisions of this sub-section shall not apply to the enquiry or verification conducted by the verification unit in the circumstances referred t to in sub-clause (g) ) of clause (xii) of sub-section (7); (7) For the purposes of faceless assessment- (i) an electronic record shall be authenticated by- (a) the National Faceless Assessment Centre by affixing i....
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....ns or present his case before the income-tax authority in any unit. (viii) the Chief Commissioner or the Director General, in charge of the Regional Faceless Assessment Centre, under which the concerned unit is set up, may approve the request for personal hearing referred to in clause (vii) if he is of the opinion that the request is covered by the circumstances referred to in sub-clause (h) of clause (xii); (ix) where the request for personal hearing has been approved by the Chief Commissioner or the Director General, in charge of the Regional Faceless Assessment Centre, such hearing shall be conducted exclusively through video conferencing or video telephony, including use of any telecommunication application software which supports video conferencing or video telephony, in accordance with the procedure laid down by the Board; (x) subject to the proviso to sub-section (6), any examination or recording of the statement of the assessee or any other person (other than statement recorded in the course of survey under section 133A of the Act) shall be conducted by an income-tax authority in any unit, exclusively through video conferencing or video telephony,....
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.... of the assessment, if considered necessary, transfer the case to the Assessing Officer having jurisdiction over such case, with the prior approval of the Board. (9) Notwithstanding anything contained in any other provision of this Act, assessment made under sub-section (3) of section 143 or under section 144 in the cases referred to in sub-section (2) [other than the cases transferred under subsection (8)], on or after the 1st day of April, 2021, shall be nonest if such assessment is not made in accordance with the procedure laid down under this section. [(10) Notwithstanding anything contained in this section, the function of verification unit under this section may also be performed by a verification unit located in any other faceless center set up under the provisions of this Act or under any scheme notified under the provisions of this Act; and the request for verification may also be assigned by the National Faceless Assessment Centre to such verification unit.] Explanation - In this section, unless the context otherwise requires- (a) "addressee" shall have the same meaning as assigned to it in clause (b) of sub-section (1) of section 269a ....
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....il message" means a message or information created or transmitted or received on a computer, computer system, computer resource or communication device including attachments in text, image, audio, video and any other electronic record, which may be transmitted with the message; (0) "hash function" and "hash result" shall have the same meaning as assigned to them in the Explanation to subsection (2) of section 369h of the Information Technology Act, 2000 (21 of 2000); (p) "Mobile app" shall mean the application software of the Income-tax Department developed for mobile devices which is downloaded and installed on the registered mobile number of the assessee; (q) "originator" shall have the same meaning as assigned to it in clause (za) of sub-section (1) of section 2696 of the Information Technology Act, 2000 (21 of 2000); (r) 'real time alert" means any communication sent to the assessee, by way of Short Messaging Service on his registered mobile number, or by way of update on his Mobile App, or by way of an email at his registered email address, so as to alert him regarding delivery of an electronic communication; (s) "registered acc....
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....essing Unit under Section 144B consist of Senior Officials of the Income Tax Act, 1961. 31. As per sub- section (4) of the Income Tax Act, 1961 the Assessment Unit, Technical Unit and the Review Unit shall have the following authorities namely:- (a) Additional Commissioner or Additional Director or Joint Commissioner or Joint Director, as the case may be; (b) Deputy Commissioner or Deputy Director or Assistant Commissioner or Assistant Director, or Income-tax Officer, as the case may be; (c) such other income-tax authority, ministerial staff, executive or consultant, as considered necessary by the Board. 32. Therefore, the case of the petitioner that the impugned Assessment Order dated 28.9.2021 has been passed without awaiting for order under Section 144A of the Income Tax Act, 1961 of the Joint Commissioner in response to be application dated 13.09.2021 filed by the petitioner under the aforesaid provision cannot be countenanced. 33. That apart, the Joint Commissioner of Income tax is a functionary of the Assessment unit. Therefore, the jurisdictional Joint Commissioner cannot issue any directions to the Assessment Unit contemplated for complet....
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....posed, as per the draft assessment order and serve a copy of such order and notice for initiating penalty proceedings, if any, to the assessee, along with the demand notice, specifying the sum payable by, or refund of any amount due to, the assessee on the basis of such assessment; or (b) provide an opportunity to the assessee, in case any variation prejudicial to the interest of assessee is proposed, by serving a notice calling upon him to show cause as to why the proposed variation should not be made; or (c) assign the draft assessment order to a review unit in any one Regional Faceless Assessment Centre, through an automated allocation system, for conducting review of such order; 40. The draft assessment is to be also reviewed by a Review Unit and it may decide to - (a) concur with the draft assessment order and intimate the National Faceless Assessment Centre about such concurrence; or (b) suggest such variation, as it may deem fit, in the draft assessment order and send its suggestions to the National Faceless Assessment Centre; 41. After receipt of concurrence from the Review Unit on the draft assessment order, the National Faceless C....