TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
2024 (6) TMI 1462
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....e impugned notice u/s 148 dated 26.03.2024 for AY 2017-18 annexed herewith at Annexure 'D'. (C) Award the cost of this petition. (D) Grant such other and further reliefs as this Hon'ble Court deems fit. " 2. The brief facts of the case are as under:- 2.1 The petitioner filed return of income for the assessment year 2017-2018. 2.2 A search under Section 132 of the Income Tax Act, 1961 (for short "the Act") was carried out in case of R.K.Group on 24.8.2021 wherein the incriminating documents and digital data was found and seized. 2.3 The respondent No.1 appears to have sent a proposal based upon the documents found and seized during the course of the aforesaid search to the Principal Commissioner of Income Tax-1, Rajkot to initiate the reassesssment proceedings for the Assessment Year 2017-2018. 2.4 The respondent No.1 recorded the satisfaction note based on which the impugned notice under Section 148 of the Act dated 26th March, 2024 was issued. 3. The petitioner being aggrieved by the notice issued under Section 148 of the Act has preferred this petition with the aforesaid prayers. 4. Learned Senior Advocate Mr. R.K.Patel with lear....
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....er alia, was to create an audit trail. Therefore, the communication relating to assessments, appeals, orders, etcetera which find mention in paragraph 2 of the 2019 Circular, albeit without DIN, can have no standing in law, having regard to the provisions of paragraph 4 of the 2019 Circular. (c) During the course of hearing, Mr. Suresh Kumar produced an intimation letter dated 13th October 2021 stating that the order dated 28th September 2021 under Section 153C of the Act has a DIN, which is set out therein. Even if this is held to be in compliance with paragraph 5 of the Circular, which deals with regularization of communications without DIN, this can only seek to regularize the failure to generate a DIN, but yet the requirements of paragraph 3 of the Circular will still remain contravened and consequently, the order dated 28th September 2021 ought to be treated as invalid and never issued; (d) The said Circular also applies to the satisfaction note dated 13th July 2021 issued by respondent no.1. The satisfaction note will fall within the scope of paragraph 2 of the Circular as a communication of the specified type issued to any person. In the case of the satisfa....
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....e Hon'ble Apex Court in case of M/s. Calcutta Knitwears (Supra) as per provisions of Section 153 as it existed was being considered whereas, in the facts of the present case there is a time limit prescribed for issuance of the notice under Section 148 of the Act in Section 149(1)(b)(3) of the Act. It was submitted that the notice was issued within the time limit prescribed and that is not even objected by the assessee. Therefore, it was submitted that the reliance placed by the petitioner on Circulars applicable to the scheme of reopening in such cases prior to 1.4.2021 would not be applicable to the reopening under Section 148 of the Act pursuant to such cases. 5.3 It was further submitted that the petitioner can raise objections and contentions during the course of the reassessment proceedings with regard to the contents of the satisfaction note and therefore, the impugned notice cannot be said to be without jurisdiction. 6. Having heard learned advocates for the respective parties and having considered the facts of the case, on first blush it appears that the satisfaction note uploaded on the portal being without date and DIN number, would invalidate and vitiate the entire....
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....way which is otherwise made applicable in the cases which are not arising out of the search proceedings and the decision of the Hon'ble Apex Court in case of Gkn Driveshafts (India) Ltd vs Income Tax Officer And Ors reported in (2003) 259 ITR 19 is now given a form of statutory provisions under Section 148A of the Act. 8.1. On perusal of the section 148 of the Act, there is no provision to give a copy of satisfaction note recorded by the Assessing Officer along with the notice under Section 148 of the Act. The Assessing Officer has uploaded the satisfaction note which is an internal communication sent along with the proposal which is evident from the communication dated 26.2.2024 addressed by the Assessing Officer to the Principal Commissioner of Income Tax which clearly shows the enclosure as a satisfaction note. The said satisfaction note therefore, cannot be said to be communication as contemplated under the Circular No.19/2019 and even otherwise the same can be regularized by issuing the copy of the said satisfaction note with DIN number which would be a procedural aspect for issuing notice under Section 148 of the Act which already contains the DIN number and date. 9. Wi....