2023 (6) TMI 1379 - HC - Income Tax

Validity of Reopening of assessment - notice u/s 148A(b) issued without taking approval from the specified authority u/s 151 - HELD THAT - On plain reading of provisions of Section 151 it appears that for passing any order u/s 148A of the Act an approval from the specified authority as described in Section 151 of the Act has to be taken but by no stretch of imagination it can be interpreted in a way that a notice u/s 148A(b) of the Act is also an order and as such it is of the considered view that before issuance of notice u/s 148A(b) of the Act no approval from specified authority is required u/s 151 of the Act. For the reason that the impugned order u/s 148A(d) is neither a final assessment order nor any demand arises out of it and petitioner has ample opportunity to make a case if it has in its favour in course of proceeding subsequent to the order u/s 148A(d) of the Act for dropping the proceedings we are not inclined to interfere with the impugned order. This writ petition is disposed of by only granting liberty to the petitioner to raise any point of merit of the re-assessment before the assessing officer in course of the proceeding subsequent to the order under Section 148A(d) of the Act.

Summary

Issues involved:
The issues involved in the judgment are related to the validity of the notice issued under Section 148A(b) of the Income Tax Act, 1961 without approval from the "specified authority" under Section 151 of the Act, and the challenge to the impugned order under Section 148A(d) for the assessment year 2019-2020.

Validity of Notice under Section 148A(b):
The petitioner challenged the notice issued under Section 148A(b) of the Income Tax Act, 1961, dated 1st March, 2023, on the ground that it was issued without obtaining approval from the "specified authority" as required under Section 151 of the Act. The court analyzed the provisions of Section 151 and concluded that the requirement of approval from the "specified authority" is necessary for passing an order under Section 148A of the Act. However, the court clarified that a notice under Section 148A(b) cannot be considered an order. Therefore, it was held that approval from the "specified authority" is not required before issuing a notice under Section 148A(b) of the Act.

Challenge to Impugned Order under Section 148A(d):
The impugned order under Section 148A(d) of the Income Tax Act, 1961, dated 22nd March, 2023, for the assessment year 2019-2020 was challenged by the petitioner. The court noted that the impugned order is not a final assessment order and does not give rise to any immediate demand. The petitioner was granted liberty to raise any valid points during subsequent proceedings to challenge the re-assessment. The court decided not to interfere with the impugned order and disposed of the writ petition by allowing the petitioner the opportunity to present its case before the assessing officer in the future proceedings following the order under Section 148A(d) of the Act.