2010 (8) TMI 658 - HC - Income Tax

Rectification order - Whether an order of rectification under Section 154 of the Income Tax Act could be passed to rectify the intimation given under Section 143(1)(a) of the Act, after a final assessment order under Section 143(3) of the Act has been passed - As per the view of the law laid down by the Hon ble Supreme Court in Commissioner of Income Tax v. Gujarat Electricity Board (2002 -TMI - 6115 - SUPREME Court), after passing of an order under Section 143(3) of the Act, intimation under Section 143(1)(a) of the Act gets merged with the said order under Section 143(3) of the Act and the intimation under Section 143(1)(a) of the Act does not any more independently survive for rectification by the Assessing Authority under Section 154 of the Act - Hence, the rectification is wholly without jurisdiction - Thus, the writ petition is allowed and the impugned order is set aside.

Summary

Issues:
1. Whether an order of rectification under Section 154 of the Income Tax Act can be passed to rectify the intimation given under Section 143(1)(a) after a final assessment order under Section 143(3) has been passed.

Analysis:
1. The petitioner, a Government of Tamil Nadu undertaking, submitted a tax return for the accounting year ending on 31.03.1993, admitting Nil income. The return was accepted by the second respondent through an intimation under Section 143(1)(a) of the Income Tax Act on 07.03.1994. Subsequently, a notice under Section 143(2) was issued on 31.03.1994, and a revised return was filed on 04.07.1995, leading to a scrutiny assessment under Section 143(3) on 22.11.1995.

2. The second respondent later issued a notice under Section 154 to rectify the original intimation dated 07.03.1994. The petitioner objected, but the rectification order was passed on 14.12.1998, levying additional income tax. The petitioner's revision under Section 264 was dismissed, leading to the writ petition challenging the order.

3. The petitioner argued that once an assessment order is made under Section 143(3) post a notice under Section 143(2), the intimation under Section 143(1)(a) merges with the Section 143(3) order, rendering it unamendable under Section 154. However, the respondents contended that there is no legal impediment to rectifying the Section 143(1)(a) intimation post a final assessment order under Section 143(3).

4. The petitioner cited a Supreme Court judgment emphasizing that once an assessment order is made under Section 143(3) following a notice under Section 143(2), there is no scope to proceed under Section 143(1)(a). Additionally, a Kolkata High Court judgment supported the view that the intimation under Section 143(1)(a) merges with the Section 143(3) order, making rectification under Section 154 unnecessary.

5. Following the legal principles laid down by the Supreme Court and the Kolkata High Court, the judgment concluded that after an order under Section 143(3) is passed, the intimation under Section 143(1)(a) merges with it, precluding independent rectification under Section 154. Consequently, the impugned rectification order was deemed without jurisdiction and set aside in favor of the petitioner in the writ petition.