TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
2025 (3) TMI 1802
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....e of proper and legally valid service of SCN by not communicating the uploading of SCN on specified email and consequently no knowledge and no information to assessee of issuance and uploading of any such notice on ITBA (website), resulting into no opportunity of hearing at all, makes the complete proceedings U/s.263 including impugned order U/s.263 Dtd.08.03.24 as null and void and unsustainable in law. 3. That without prejudice, under the facts and circumstances, even on presuming any alleged on money payment for booking of flat as per alleged excel sheet found in search on builder, this alleged payment should be taken as paid either in A. Y.12-13, when the first cheque payment was made on 14.07.11 or alternatively in A. Y.13-14, when the initial booking agreement Dtd.12.06.12 (A.Y.13-14) was entered into with the builder as well as as per the details on excel sheet, hence in the absence of any evidence for alleged on money payment in A. Y.17-18, the impugned proceedings for such alleged payments in A.Y.17-18 are unsustainable in law which also shows total non-application of mind by the PCIT while initiating the proceedings for a wrong asstt. year, hence liable to be qua....
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.... 508 (Allahabad). To support his contention, the ld.counsel for the assessee drew our attention to screen-shot of the income-tax portal of the assessee, reflecting therein email-id given by the assessee as contact details for future communication being "[email protected]", primary email id, and "[email protected]", as secondary email-id. 6. The ld.DR countered by saying that the screen shot furnished by the assessee was taken on 29.8.2024 while the notices for the impugned proceedings before the ld.Pr.CIT, were issued to the assessee on 8.2.2024 and 28.2.2024. His contention was that these email addresses may have been furnished in the portal of the assessee subsequent to the passing of the order by the ld.Pr.CIT. The ld.DR contended that the notice issued by the department are system generated which are sent both on the email-id furnished by the assessee and are also reflected on the portal of the assessee. That there is no human intervention involved in the same. That there is no possibility of notices not being served on the email id furnished by the assessee when the same is reflected in the income-tax portal of the assessee. 7. To this, the ld.counsel for the a....
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....erred to as "communication") may be made by delivering or transmitting a copy thereof, to the person therein named,- (a) by post or by such courier services as may be approved by the Board; or (b) in such manner as provided under the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 (5 of 1908) for the purposes of service of summons; or (c) in the form of any electronic record as provided in Chapter IV of the Information Technology Act, 2000 (21 of 2000); or (d) by any other means of transmission of documents as provided by rules made by the Board in this behalf. (2) The Board may make rules providing for the addresses (including the address for electronic mail or electronic mail message) to which the communication referred to in sub-section (1) may be delivered or transmitted to the person therein named. Explanation.-For the purposes of this section, the expressions "electronic mail" and "electronic mail message" shall have the meanings as assigned to them in Explanation to section 66A of the Information Technology Act, 2000 (21 of 2000). 9. The relevant rules framed by the Board in this regard are Rule 127 of the Income Tax Rules, 1962, and th....
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....dressee to which the communication relates; or (ii) the email address available in the last income-tax return furnished by the addressee; or (iii) in the case of addressee being a company, email address of the company as available on the website of Ministry of Corporate Affairs; or (iv) any email address made available by the addressee to the income-tax authority or any person authorised by such income-tax authority. 10. As is evident from the above, the communication to be delivered electronically is to be on the email address available in the last income tax return furnished by the assessee or the email address available with the website of the Ministry of Corporate Affairs, or any email address made available by the addressee to the income tax authority or any such person authorized by the income-tax authority. 11. Before us, the ld.counsel for the assessee has not furnished the email address as per any of the criteria as stated in the Rules. What he has furnished was that available in the year 2022 i.e. prior to the initiation of the proceedings under section 263 of the Act in February, 2024. He has also furnished email address available with th....
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.... the assessee during the reassessment proceedings without making any inquiry on the information available with him. 15. The ld.counsel for the assessee pointed out that reassessment proceedings was resorted to in the case of the assessee for the reason that the AO was in possession of the information that the assessee had paid on-money in cash for purchase of property/unit in a project developed by M/s.Navratna Organizers & Developers P.Ltd. ("NODPL" for short) named Kalhaar Blues and Greens ("KBG" for short). The quantum of on-money paid as per the information available with the AO was that of Rs. 1,47,11,500/- and on the belief that income-tax on the same had escaped assessment in the absence of non-disclosure of the same by the assessee, the case of the assessee was reopened for reassessment. 16. The contention of the ld.counsel for the assessee against the finding of the ld.Pr.CIT of the assessment order being erroneous was that necessary inquiry was conducted by the AO during the re-assessment proceedings, and thereafter finding merit in the contention of the assessee, the AO had accepted the assessee's plea of no on-money paid for the impugned transaction of purchase of....
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.... for reopening the case placed before us at PB page no.125 that during search conducted on "NODPL" an excel-sheet was found containing details of units sold in "KBG" which included on-money received on the sale of these units, and the details of which corroborated with the details furnished by the "NODPL" in post-search inquiry conducted,with respect to the different parties to whom the units were sold at the agreed amount. The ld.DR contended that despite this clear cut information being in possession of the AO, the AO made no further inquiry with regard to the same. He also pointed out that the ld.Pr.CIT had also noted the fact that "NODPL" had offered the entire on-money received by it to the Settlement Commission and had referred to the same in her order also. To this, the ld.counsel for the assessee countered by saying that this was a subsequent development,after passing of the assessment order, and for which the order passed by the AO could not be faulted as being in error. 19. We have heard rival contentions and we do not find any merit in the contents of the ld.counsel for the assessee that the ld.Pr.CIT had erred in finding the assessment order passed in the case being ....
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....g prejudice to the Revenue. 23. We do not find any substance in the arguments of the ld.counsel for the assessee that the ld.Pr.CIT had acted on information which came on record subsequent to the passing of the order, that is the order of the Settlement Commission accepting the income surrendered by the "NODPL" on account of on-money received on sale of unit in "KBG". Section 263 of the Act itself clearly states that revisionary jurisdiction is to be exercised if on examination of the records of any proceedings, the order passed by the AO is found to be erroneous causing prejudice to the Revenue, and the "records" have been explained in Explanation-1 to the section to pertain to all records relating to any proceedings under this Act available at the time of examination by the Pr.Chief Commissioner, Chief Commissioner or Pr.Commissioner or Commissioner. For the sake of clarity section 263 along with Explanation-1(b) is reproduced hereunder: 263. (1) The Principal Chief Commissioner or Chief Commissioner or Principal Commissioner or Commissioner may call for and examine the record of any proceeding under this Act, and if he considers that any order passed therein by the A....