2024 (5) TMI 647 - HC - Income Tax

Validity of Faceless assessment of income escaping assessment u/s 151 - According to Petitioners, the notice could have been issued only by the Faceless Assessing Officer ( FAO ) not issued by the Jurisdictional Assessing Officer ( JAO ) - HELD THAT - These petitions will be covered by the judgment passed in Hexaware Technologies Limited 2024 (5) TMI 302 - BOMBAY HIGH COURT Counsels for respective Respondent concur. In some of the petitions, the ground of notice being invalid since it was not in accordance with the scheme framed u/s 151A of the Income Tax Act, 1961 was raised orally. Since we have held in the judgment in Hexaware Technologies Limited 2024 (5) TMI 302 - BOMBAY HIGH COURT that such a notice will be invalid, certainly those Petitioners should also be given the benefit of decision taken by this Court. In the circumstances, the notices issued in these petitions by the JAO u/s 148 of the Act are hereby quashed and set aside. In case any reassessment orders are passed, the same also will stand quashed and set aside. So also, the consequential demand notices or penalty notices, if any, will also stand quashed and set aside.

Summary

Issues involved:
The validity of notices issued by Jurisdictional Assessing Officer (JAO) u/s 148 of the Income Tax Act, 1961, and whether they should have been issued by the Faceless Assessing Officer (FAO) as per Section 151A and the scheme framed thereunder.

Judgment Details:

1. The Court had previously ruled in the case of Hexaware Technologies Limited v. Assistant Commissioner of Income Tax that notices issued by JAO instead of FAO are invalid and bad-in-law u/s 151A of the Income Tax Act, 1961.

2. The petitions in question fall under the purview of the judgment in the Hexaware case, as confirmed by the counsels for both Petitioners and Respondents.

3. Notices challenged in the petitions, issued by JAO u/s 148 of the Act, are declared invalid and are hereby quashed and set aside. Any reassessment orders, as well as consequential demand or penalty notices, are also deemed quashed and set aside.

4. Petitions are disposed of accordingly, and any interim applications are also considered disposed of.

5. All rights and contentions not covered by the Hexaware judgment are preserved for parties to raise in other petitions if necessary in the future.