9911796707
TMI Blog2016 (6) TMI 967X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... d and in view of reasons given by AO in Annexure I, I am satisfied that income has escaped assessment. In this case and it is a fit case for issue of notice u/s. 148 of the Income Tax Act. Therefore, necessary approval is accorded.” Below this, we find the signature of the Principal Commissioner of Income Tax, Shri Sandip Kapoor carrying date of 31.03.2015. The question of issuance of notice, therefore, must rest. As noted, according to the department, the service was effected through two modes. Firstly, the service was delivered by personal delivery at the given address of the petitioner-company, where one Krishna Yadav was present and also received a notice putting his signature and giving his mobile phone number. However, to avoid any fu ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... e of two panch-witnesses. 2. In this context, counsel for the petitioner drew our attention to the materials on record. He submitted that from the outset, the petitioner had been raising objections about the issuance and service of notice, before the last date so provided in the statute. In the objections raised by the petitioner to the process of reopening also, such contention was taken. The Assessing Officer, while disposing of such objections, never relied on this socalled service of the notice through affixing. It was, for the first time, revealed before the Court in the affidavit-in-reply and, therefore, there is a clear attempt on part of the authority to create evidence of service of notice. Counsel heavily relied on an affidavit d ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... mitted signature, are extremely similar if not identical, giving further credence to the theory of the department that Nimeshkumar Chaudhary had acted as a panch-witness. He pointed out that alongwith the panchnama, photo copies of driving license and PAN card of the said panch-witness have been produced. 4. In order to prima facie satisfy ourselves about the issuance of service of notice in view of the above bitterly contested factual controversy, we had called for the original file of the department. We find that the file of the department contains reasons recorded by the Assessing Officer carrying a signature of the date of 31.05.2015. The draft notice in proforma was placed before the higher authority for approval. He has granted his a ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... y done as alleged or not. In this context, we have prima facie tried to compare the signatures of Nimeshkumar Chaudhary carried on the panchnama with the admitted signature of the said person on the affidavit produced by the petitioner. These two signatures do carry a great degree of similarity. It is ofcourse not possible for non experts like us to conclude whether these signatures are identical and therefore, made by the same person or not. Nevertheless, if the theory of the petitioner is that the signature on the panchnama is completely concocted, we wonder how the person fabricated the signature, can bring about such close similarities. Be that as it may, we are not inclined to conclude this issue in a writ petition since it is a highly ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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