2010 (11) TMI 739 - HC - Income Tax

Notice - notice has been issued without there being any reasons for proceeding under section 147 of the Act. In the circumstances, we find ourselves in disagreement with the submissions made by the learned counsel for the petitioner that there is no basis or no sufficient reason exist for the respondent to have issued notice to the petitioner. On the other hand, on going through the reasons recorded by the respondent we find that there is a finding recorded about existence of reason to believe. In our view no illegality much less jurisdictional error has been committed by the respondent in issuing notice to the petitioner so as to invoke our jurisdiction under Article 226 of the Constitution of India, the petitioner is free to raise the grounds about the merits of the matter in the proceedings under section 147 of the Act, the petition fails and is hereby dismissed

Summary

Issues:
Challenge to notice issued under section 148 of the Income-tax Act for making assessment under section 147 of the Act of escaped income.

Analysis:
The petitioner challenged a notice issued by the Income-tax Officer under sections 148 and 147 of the Income-tax Act, 1961, for making an assessment of escaped income. The petitioner contended that the notice was issued without satisfying the requirements of section 147 and lacked sufficient material to invoke jurisdiction under the Act. The petitioner also argued that as they were not a partner of the firm during the relevant assessment year, the proceedings initiated through the notice were improper. However, after hearing the petitioner's counsel, the court found no merit in the contentions raised.

The Income-tax Officer issued the notice after recording reasons, which were detailed in the annexure to the notice. The reasons indicated that the assessee, a partner in a construction firm, had purchased land, and the advance money for the purchase was given before the firm's existence. The Officer believed that taxable income had escaped assessment, leading to the issuance of the notice. The objection filed by the petitioner was considered and rejected by the Income-tax Officer, who found sufficient material to support the belief that income had escaped assessment.

The court observed that the Assessing Officer had recorded findings based on available material, justifying the belief that income had escaped assessment. The court disagreed with the petitioner's argument that there was no sufficient reason for issuing the notice, as the reasons recorded by the Officer demonstrated the existence of a valid reason to believe that income had escaped assessment. The court concluded that no jurisdictional error had been committed in issuing the notice, and the petitioner was free to challenge the merits of the matter during the assessment proceedings under section 147 of the Act.

Therefore, the court dismissed the petition, upholding the validity of the notice issued under section 148 for making an assessment under section 147 of the Income-tax Act.