Sunil Bhimashankar Walse v. The Principal Chief Commissioner Of Income Tax And Another

IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT BOMBAYBENCH AT AURANGABAD WRIT PETITION NO. 1865 OF 2023 Sunil Bhimashankar Walse VERSUS The Principal Chief Commissioner Of Income Tax And Another ... Mr. R. R. Chandak, Advocate for the PetitionerMr. A. M. Sharma, Advocate for Respondents ... CORAM:RAVINDRA V. GHUGE &R. M. JOSHI, JJDATE:MARCH 20, 2024 PER COURT :1.The substantive prayer put-forth by thePetitioner is in terms of clause ‘C’. 2.The only issue raised in this Petition is asregards the escaped assessment of an amount, which isless than Rs.50,00,000/- (Fifty Lakh). As regards theissuance of a notice for reassessment or re-computationunder Section 147 of the Income Tax Act, 1961, it isundisputed that the notice was issued under Section 148of the Income Tax Act, 1961. 3.The Petitioner had filed the income tax returns for the Assessment Year 2017-2018. Hence, thegrievance of the Petitioner is that the notice under Section 148 cannot be issued in the light of Section149(1)(b) of the Income Tax Act, 1961, with referenceto the escaped assessment, if the notice is issuedbeyond three years of the Assessment Year and if theamount is less than Rs.50,00,000/- (Fifty Lakhs). Anotice in such peculiar circumstances could be issuedeven within ten years, provided the escaped income ismore than Rs.50,00,000/- (Fifty Lakhs). 4.This issue is no longer res-integra. Despitethe vehement submissions of the learned Advocate Shri.Sharma, for the Department, he is unable to indicatefrom the record that the impugned notice was issuedwithin three years and that the amount of escapedassessment was more than Rs.50,00,000/-. 5.Therefore, this Writ Petition is allowed interms of prayer Clause ‘C’. (R. M. JOSHI, J) (RAVINDRA V. GHUGE, J)Malani