2022 (8) TMI 1584

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....ct, 1961, (the Act for brevity). Several grounds were raised in writ petition and more particularly that the assessing authority while passing the order impugned in the writ petition dated 5th April, 2022 has not adverted to the explanation given by the appellant/assessee dated 25th March, 2022 to the notice issued by the assessing officer dated 21st March, 2022 under clause (b) of Section 148A of the Act. The Learned Single Bench by the impugned order was of the opinion that there is no scope for granting any interim order and directed the respondents to file an affidavit-in-opposition within a time-frame and granted a liberty to the appellant/assessee to file a reply. The appellant being aggrieved by such order is before us by way of thi....

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....uch time as may be extended by him on the basis of an application in this behalf as to why a notice under Section 148 should not be issued on the basis of information which suggests that income chargeable to tax has escaped assessment in the case of the assessee for the relevant assessment year and results of inquiry conducted, if any, as per clause (a) of Section 148A. Clause (c) of 148A mandates the assessing officer to consider reply of the assessee in response to the show cause notice referred to in clause (b). Thereafter, the assessing officer has to pass an order in terms of clause (d) of Section 148A which mandates that he shall decide on the basis of materials available on record including reply of the assessee, whether or not it is....

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....r law provides. Thus the order dated 5th April, 2022 is in gross violation of the procedure stipulated under Section 148A of the Act. Learned Advocate appearing for the assessee placed reliance on the decision of High Court of Delhi in the case of FIRST SOLAR POWER INDIA PRIVATE LIMITED Versus ASSISTANT COMMISSIONER OF INCOME TAX CIRCLE 7 - 1 DELHI AND ANOTHER, 2022 SCC ONLINE DEL 1627: (2022) 327 CTR 102 and the decision of High Court of Meghalaya in JASMINE BONNY AGITOK SANGMA Versus UNION OF INDIA AND OTHERS, 2022 SCC ONLINE MEGH 187 : (2022) 445 ITR 4. In both the decisions the Hon'ble Division Bench has interfered with the order passed under clause (d) of Section 148A by noting that in terms of clause (C) of Section 148A there is a du....