TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
2026 (1) TMI 1044
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....on 148 of the Act is without the approval / sanction of the Competent Authority as contemplated under Section 151 of the Act. 4. To put it in a nut shell, it was argued by the learned Senior Counsel for the Petitioner that in the facts of the present case, since the impugned notice was issued on 28th March, 2021, the unamended provisions of Section 151 would apply, and the authority for granting approval for issuance of notice under Section 148 of the Act would be of the Joint Commissioner of Income Tax. However, admittedly, in the facts of the present case, it is the Commissioner of Income Tax (Exemption), Pune that has granted the approval for issuance of notice under Section 148 of the Act. This is the short point on which the impugned notice is challenged. 5. At the outset, the learned Senior Counsel appearing on behalf of the Petitioner was fair enough to point out that no specific ground to this effect has been raised in the Petition, though, a ground is raised that the sanction is granted without any application of mind. He submitted that despite this, since from the facts of the case itself it can be ascertained that the authority granting the sanction was the wrong a....
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....ing for the sake of argument that the issuance of the notice was within a period of four years from the end of the Assessment Year 2015-16, the Assessing Officer, before issuing the notice under Section 148 of the Act, has to satisfy himself that there is an escapement of income and has to prepare a satisfaction note in the form of a proposal and submit the same to the CIT/PCIT through the Joint/Additional CIT, for necessary approval under Section 151 of the Act. The Joint / Additional CIT, after going through the proposal, if satisfied, forwards the same to the CIT/ PCIT for the necessary approval. The CIT/PCIT, after going through the proposal and the forwarding remarks by the Joint / Additional CIT, if satisfied, approves the proposal for issuance of notice under Section 148 of the Act. Once this procedure is followed, then it cannot be said that there was no satisfaction of the Joint/ Additional CIT for sanction of issuing the notice under Section 148 of the Act. Hence, according to Mr. Saxena, looking at it from any angle, the notice issued under Section 148 of the Act cannot be impugned on the ground that it lacks the necessary sanction. Consequently, he submitted that the Wr....
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....our years from the end of an assessment year falls between March 20, 2020 and March 31, 2021, then the specified authority under section 151(2) has time till March 31, 2021 to grant approval. The time limit for section 151 of the old regime expires on March 31, 2021 because the new regime comes into effect on April 1, 2021." (emphasis supplied) 12. As can be seen from the above reproduction, Section 3 (1) of TOLA relaxes the time limit for completion from 20th March, 2020 to 31st March, 2021. TOLA will accordingly extend the time limit for the grant of sanction by the authority specified under Section 151 of the Act. In the aforesaid paragraph, the Hon'ble Supreme Court has categorically stated that in the case of Section 151 of the old regime (i.e. prior to 1st April, 2021), the test is if the time limit of four years from the end of the Assessment Year falls between 20th March, 2020 and 31st March, 2021. If it does, then, the specified authority under Section 151 (2) has time till 31st March, 2021 to grant approval. In other words, if the time limit of four years from the end of Assessment Year 2015-16 falls between 20th March, 2020 and 31st March, 2021, the Joint Com....
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....a (supra) the exact same argument was canvassed by the Revenue and negated by this Court. Paragraph 9 and 10 of the decision in Chetan Gopaldas Cholera (supra) reads thus:- 9. As far as the Revenue's contention that because the Jt. Commissioner has recorded that this is a fit case for reopening the assessment, the same would suffice with the mandatory requirements of Section 151, we find that the said issue is squarely covered by a decision of this Court in the case of CIT Vs. Aquatic Remedies (P.) Ltd. (2018) 406 ITR 545 (Bom.). In the facts of Aquatic Remedies (supra), the Court was considering whether the Tribunal was correct in quashing the order made under Section 143 (3) read with Section 147 holding that the same is without jurisdiction, failing to appreciate the fact that the sanction of the CIT, was based on the satisfaction/report of the Additional CIT, and as such, the requirement of Section 151 (2) was duly fulfilled. Answering this question, the Court in Aquatic Remedies (P.) Ltd. (supra) opined as under : "6. Before considering the rival submissions, it is necessary to reproduce the relevant extracts from 'FORM FOR RECORDING REASONS FOR INITIATIN....
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.... submits has recorded his satisfaction with the reasons recorded by the Assessing Officer to issue the re-opening notice. Thus, the requirement of Section 151 (2) of the Act is satisfied inasmuch as the Additional Commissioner of Income Tax has found it to be a fit case for issuing of notice. It is further submitted that even though, the approval was obtained from the Commissioner of Income Tax for issuance of the notice, it does not take away the fact that the Additional Commissioner of Income Tax was satisfied with reasons recorded by the Assessing Officer. Therefore, it is submitted that the notice dated 25th March, 2011, cannot be said to be without jurisdiction. 9. It is undisputed position before us that in terms of Section 151(2) of the Act, the sanctioning/permission to issue notice under Section 148 of the Act has to be issued by the Additional Commissioner of Income Tax. We find that the Assessing Officer had not sought the approval of the Designated Officer but of the Commissioner of Income Tax. This is clear from the Form used to obtain the sanction. In any case, the approval/satisfaction recorded in the form submitted for sanction of the Commissioner of Income....