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TMI Blog2023 (12) TMI 776X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... iso appended to Section 142(2C) of the Act? HELD THAT:- As per The relevant parts of the judgment [ 2023 (12) TMI 740 - DELHI HIGH COURT] as has been correctly submitted on behalf of the respondent/assessee, the decision taken to get an audit conducted under Section 142(2A) of the Act is a step in the process of assessment proceedings and, therefore, is clearly not an administrative power; as the appointment of a special auditor entails civil consequences Given that the initial exercise of the power has been explicated as one that is not administrative, the CIT(A) could not have extended the time based on the recommendation of the AO. However, the enunciation of this legal principle does not derogate from our observation above th ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... e present case, the Assessing Officer has granted extension of time under the proviso to Section 142(2C) of the Income Tax Act, 1961 (The Act')? (B) Whether the power of extension of time under the proviso to Section 142(2C) of [the] Act is procedural/administrative in nature and can be exercised by an authority superior to the Assessing Officer? (C) Whether without prejudice to the above, in light of [the] provision of Section 292B of the Act, can the act of the Assessing Officer not be said to be in substance and effect in conformity with or according to the intent and purpose of the Act, and hence valid and sustainable in law? 3. It is relevant to note at this stage that the Tribunal, via the order impugned, dispose ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... evident, the three questions of law framed in the instant appeals veer around the issue captured at the proceedings held on 11.07.2023. 5. Thus, having regard to the aforesaid, counsel for the parties agreed that the decision the Court would take vis- -vis the appeals qua SSPL, concerning the question of law framed, would also apply to appeals filed by the appellant/revenue in matters concerning BLK. 6. The relevant parts of the judgment dated 11.12.2023 rendered in ITA 526/2023 and 568/2023 is set forth hereafter: 16. Therefore, we are required to construe based on the construction of the provisions at hand, i.e., sub-section (2A), (2C) and the proviso appended to Section 142(2C), whether the power conferred on the AO can b ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... s case are extracted hereafter: 24. If an assessee files a return the same is not presumed to be incorrect. When the assessing officer, however, intends to pass an order of assessment, he may take recourse to such steps including the one of asking the assessee to disclose documents which are in his power or possession. He may also ask third parties to produce documents. Section 136 of the Act by reason of a legal fiction makes an assessment proceeding, a judicial proceeding. The assessment proceeding, therefore, is a part of judicial process. When a statutory power is exercised by the assessing authority in exercise of its judicial function which is detrimental to the assessee, the same is not and cannot be administrative in nature. ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... quasi-judicial and administrative functions is obliterated. The following observations bear this out: 22. It is the civil consequence which obliterates the distinction between quasi-judicial and administrative function. Moreover, with the growth of the administrative law, the old distinction between a judicial act and an administrative act has withered away. Therefore, it hardly needs reiteration that even a purely administrative order which entails civil consequences, must be consistent with the rules of natural justice. (Also see: Mrs. Maneka Gandhi Vs. Union of India Anr. and S.L. Kapoor Vs. Jagmohan Ors. . As already noted above, the expression civil consequences encompasses infraction of not merely property or pers ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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