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TMI Blog2023 (11) TMI 1291X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... gislature w.e.f. 01.04.2021 inter alia appears as follows:- (a) to prevent rampant and casual issuance of notice u/S. 148 by the Revenue; (b) to save unnecessary harassment to the assessee of being subjected to reopening a case under Section 148; (c) to save the Revenue of the time and energy which may be vested pursuing frivolous and fruitless proceedings u/S 148 Considering the aforesaid, normally, the writ Court should not interfere at such premature stage when the proceedings initiated against the assessee are yet to be concluded by the statutory authorities. In view of the aforesaid, this Court refrains to interfere with the order(s)/notice(s) impugned. Pertinently, the question of going into the veracity and genuineness of the material/evidence forming the opinion of the Assessing Officer suggesting that income of petitioner/assessee has escaped assessment ought not to be gone into while exercising writ jurisdiction under Article 226 or supervisory jurisdiction under Article 227 of the Constitution of India. Consequently, the present petition deserves to be and is hereby dismissed. - HON'BLE SHRI JUSTICE SUSHRUT ARVIND DHARMADHIKARI AND HON'BLE SHRI JUSTICE PRANAY V ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... rovisions of law, there would be various opportunities to the petitioner/assessee to raise their grievance and submit reply. In view of the aforesaid, this petition deserves to be dismissed on this ground alone. 6. Learned counsel for the respondent further argued that earlier assessment notice issued under Section 148 of the Act was subjected to challenge before the Apex Court on the ground that the same is bad in law in view of the amendment made in the Finance Act, 2021 which has amended the Income Tax Act by introducing new provisions i.e. Sections 147 to 151 of the Act with effect from 1st of April, 2021. It is also argued that the Apex Court has allowed the appeals in part modifying the impugned orders to the extent that the notice issued under Section 148 of the Act may be deemed to have been issued under Section 148A of the Act as substituted by the Finance Act, 2021 and construed or treated to be a show-cause notice in terms of Section 148A(b) of the Act and granted 30 days' time to the Assessing Officer to provide the respective assessee s information and material relied upon by the revenue so that the assessee can reply to the show cause notices within two weeks of t ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... he Assessing Officer shall decide by passing an order, whether the case is fit for issuance of notice under Section 148 of the Act and a certified copy of such order passed under Section 148 (A) (d) of the Act along with such notice have to be served upon the assessee. The limitation for issuance of notice under Section 148 is provided in Section 149 of the Act. In normal cases, no notice shall be issued if three years have elapsed from the end of the relevant assessment year. Notice beyond the period of three years from the end o f the relevant assessment year can be issued where the Assessing Officer would not be in possession of books of accounts or other documents or evidence which would reveal that the income chargeable to tax, represented in the form of asset, which has escaped assessment, amounts to or is likely to amount to fifty lacs rupees or more for that year. In such cases, notice can be issued beyond the period of three years but not beyond the period of 10 years from the end of the relevant assessment year. Notice under Section 148 of the Act can be issued when there is information with the Assessing Officer which suggests that the income chargeable to tax has escape ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... on 148 of the IT Act irrespective of whether they have been assailed before this Court or not. 28. In view of the above and for the reasons stated above, the present Appeals are allowed in part. The impugned common judgments and orders passed by the High Court of Judicature at Allahabad in W.T. No. 524/2021 and other allied tax appeals/petitions, is/are hereby modified and substituted as under: 28.1 The impugned section 148 notices issued to the respective assessees which were issued under unamended Section 148 of the IT Act, which were the subject matter of writ petitions before the various respective High Courts shall be deemed to have been issued under section 148A of the IT Act as substituted by the Finance Act, 2021 and construed or treated to be show cause notices in terms of section 148A(b). The assessing officer shall, within thirty days from today provide to the respective assessees information and material relied upon by the Revenue, so that the assessees can reply to the show cause notices within two weeks thereafter; 28.2 The requirement of conducting any enquiry, if required, with the prior approval of specified authority under section 148A(a) is hereby dispensed with ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... nd for rectification or errors statutory remedy has been provided. The order passed by the High Court of Punjab and Haryana has been affirmed by the Apex Court in SLP(C) No. 10762 of 2022 order dated 17.06.2022 and SLP No. 14823/2022 order dated 02.09.2022 respectively. 14. This Court has culled out the foundational prerequisite of Section 148A of the Act, as aforesaid, to emphasize that if the inquiry contemplated in Section 148A is interpreted to mean a detailed inquiry where both sides can seek and adduce evidence/material (documentary/ocular), then the entire object behind Section 148A would stand defeated. 15 The object behind Section 148A as is evident from the findings in the fountainhead decision of GKN Driveshafts (India) Ltd. vs. Income Tax Officer and others, 2003(1) SCC 72 is to enable the assessee to be informed of the reasons and information suggesting that income chargeable to tax has escaped assessment and, therefore, in turn to empower the assessee to prepare and file an effective reply and thereafter the Assessing Officer to pass an order under Section 148A(d), followed by issuance of notice under Section 148 of IT Act. 16. The object behind insertion of Section 1 ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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