2024 (9) TMI 527 - HC - Income Tax

Validity of final order of assessment - Reassessment action could not have been initiated by the jurisdictional Assessing Officer AO - apart from the challenges which stand raised to the consequential demand and penalty notices which have been issued, it also seeks to impugn the notice issued u/s 148 - HELD THAT - Section 148A(b) notice was issued as far back as on 15 March 2022. In response to the above, the petitioner submitted a detailed reply on 21 March 2022. On due consideration of the same, an order referable to Section 148A(d) came to be drawn on 07 April 2022 and which was followed by a formal Section 148 notice. Thus apparent that the petitioner chose to participate in the Section 148 proceedings and has approached this Court only after the passing of a final assessment order. It is only on a culmination of the reassessment proceedings that the petitioner now seeks to impugn the validity of the proceedings, based on the provisions of Section 151A of the Act and principally contends that the reassessment action could not have been initiated by the jurisdictional Assessing Officer AO . This, in our considered opinion, was a question which was available and open to be raised and the very assumption of jurisdiction challenged at the outset itself and way back in 2022 when the jurisdictional AO proposed to initiate reassessment. Thus no justification to invoke our extraordinary jurisdiction under Article 226 of the Constitution. WP dismissed.

Summary

The High Court dismissed the writ petition challenging a final assessment order, stating that the petitioner participated in the reassessment proceedings and could have raised jurisdictional issues earlier. The court held that the petitioner's rights and contentions can be addressed in an appeal or other statutory remedy.