TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
2026 (1) TMI 695
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....oner") application seeking immunity from penalty under Section 270A of the said Act of 1961. 2. Briefly stated, the facts relevant for the purpose of adjudication of the present writ petition are that the petitioner filed its Return of Income under Section 139 of the said Act of 1961 on October 26, 2023 declaring a total income of rupees 'NIL'. The same was processed under section 143 and intimation under Section 143(1) of the said Act of 1961 was issued on November 29, 2023. The petitioner's case was subjected to scrutiny assessment and an order of assessment under Section 143(3) of the said Act of 1961 was passed on March 28, 2025 raising a demand of Rs. 10,49,79,418/-. 3. The petitioner then filed an application for rectification u....
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....mmunity from penalty u/s 270AA of the Act in Form 68 on 09/04/2025. In this regard, an opportunity was given to the assessee vide notice u/s 270AA dated 08.05.2025 requesting the assessee to submit its reply / explanations or to appear either personally or through a duly authorized representative on 13.05.2025 and present their case alongwith corroborative documentary evidence. However, no compliance was made by the assessee in response to the said notice. The conditions laid down in section 270AA of the Income Tax Act also do not fulfil, as such the prayer for granting immunity is not maintainable. Accordingly, assessee's prayer for grant of immunity from imposition of penalty u/s 270A of the Income ....
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....eeding which had been initiated against the petitioner by issuance of notice under Section 270A of Income Tax Act, 1961 was dropped by the relevant revenue officer by an order dated September 29, 2025 upon taking into consideration the fact that the scrutiny assessment order that had been passed against the petitioner stood rectified resulting in a "Nil" demand. 11. Mr. Mitra has relied on a judgment of the Hon'ble Delhi High Court in the case of Schneider Electric South East Asia (HQ) Pte. Ltd. vs. Asst. Commissioner of Income Tax International Taxation Circle 3(1)(2) and Others (2022) 1 High Court Cases (Del ) 792 in support of his contention that rejection of an application seeking immunity should be informed by reasons. 12. Mr. Du....
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....at no application was filed by the petitioner seeking immunity. In the said application the petitioner has, in support of its contention that it has satisfied the conditions required for grant of immunity in terms of Section 270AA of the said Act of 1961 stated as follows: "3.0 Sec 270AA of the Act provides that the Assessing Officer may grant immunity from imposition of penalty under sec 270A of the Act provided the following conditions are met: a) Demand determined in the order is being duly paid: It may be stated that against the order passed under section 143(3) dated 28-03-2025, the company has filed rectification petition under section 154 dated 07-04-2025. Once the order under sec 143(3) is rectified by your kind-se....
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....an application to the Assessing Officer to grant immunity from imposition of penalty under section 270A and initiation of proceedings under section 276C or section 276CC, if he fulfils the following conditions, namely:- (a) the tax and interest payable as per the order of assessment or reassessment under sub-section (3) of section 143 or section 147, as the case may be, has been paid within the period specified in such notice of demand; and (b) no appeal against the order referred to in clause (a) has been filed. (2) An application referred to in sub-section (1) shall be made within one month from the end of the month in which the order referred to in clause (a) of sub-section (1) has been received and shall be ma....
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....the said section, the Assessing Officer would be bound to grant immunity to such assesse. 20. The order impugned dated May 27, 3035 could not have been passed without disclosing the basis for the conclusion as to why was (is) the petitioner not entitled to immunity and which of the conditions mentioned in Section 270AA of the said Act of 1961 the petitioner has failed to fulfil. There is no indication in the order impugned as to how have the petitioner's contention in its application for immunity been dealt with. 21. It is now well settled that reasons are live links between the narrative and the directive and that an order without reasons can also be treated as a nullity. Since the order impugned dated May 27, 2025 does not evince an....