Wp/2457/2019 Of Mrs Kanchan Agarwal v. The Income Tax Officer

IN THR HIGH COURT OF KARNATAKA AT BENGALURU DATED THIS THER 2 DAY OF JULY, 2019 BEFORE: THR HON’BLE MRS. JUSTICK S.SUJATHA WRIT PETITION No.2457/2019 (TIT) BETWEEN: Mrs. KANCHAN AGARWAL|W/O Mr. NATWAR AGARWAL,AGED ABOUT 38 YEARS,R/AT LAXMI ROAD,$ CROSds, SHANTI NAGAR,BANGALORE-5b60 O27 ... PETITIONER| |BY SRI HARISH V.58., ADV.| AND: THE INCOME TAX OFFICERWARD 7(2)(2), 3 FLOOR, |ROOM NO.320, BMTC BUILDING,KORAMANGALA 80 FEET ROAD,BANGALORE-560 O95 .. RESPONDENT. |BY SRI E.IL.SANMATHI, ADV.| THIS WRIT PEIITION IS FILED UNDER ARTICLES 2260 &22/ OF THE CONSITIUTION OF INDIA, PRAYING TO QUASH THEIMPUGNED ORDER OF REHASSESSMENI PASSED BY THERESPONDENT UNDER SECTION 143(3) R/W SECTION 147 OFTHE ACT, RELEVANT TO THE ASSESSMENT YEAR 2011-2012,|DATED24 .179.2011.€.,ANNEXURE-E|ANDTHE;CONSEQUENTIALDEMANDNOTICEISSUEDBY|THERESPONDENT, RELEVANT TO THE ASSESSMENT YEAR 201 12012, DATED 24.12.2018 1.e€., ANNEXURE-G. THIS PETITION COMING ON FOR PRELIMINARY HEARING|IN ‘B’ GROUP, THIS DAY, THE COURT MADE THE FOLLOWING:- ORDER The petitioner has challenged the re-assessmentorder passed by the respondent under Section 143(3)read with Section 147 of the Income Tax Act, 1961 (forshort the Act’) relating to the Assessment Year 2011-12and consequential demand notice. 2 |The petitioner had filed return of incomerelating to the Assessment Year in question. Theassessment proceedings were concluded under Section143(3) read with Section 147 of the Act. Subsequently,notice was issued under Section 148 of the Act to’reopen the assessment concluded. On the requestmade by the petitioner to furnish the reasons forreopening the assessment under Section 148 of the Act,reasons recorded were made available to the petitioner.Accordingly, preliminary objections and explanationswere filed by the petitioner on 27.12.2018. However,the re-assessment proceedings were concluded by the -3- respondent on 24.12.2018. It is the grievance of thepetitioner that no sufficient opportunity was provided tohim to file objections to the reasons recorded. TheAssessing Officer proceeded to conclude the _ rassessment|proceedings withoutconsideringthe.preliminary objections filed on 27.12.2018. As such,the re-assessment order impugned is not valid in theeye of law for passing the same sans disposing of thepreliminary objections. 3.|Learned counsel for the revenue justifyingthe impugned order submitted that re-assessment orderwas passed on 24.12.2018 prior to the preliminaryobjections submitted by the petitioner on 27.12.2018.The reasons recorded by the Assessing Officer forreopening the assessment under Section 148 of the Actwas made available to the petitioner on three times.Despite the same, no objections were filed. It is afterpassing of the re-assessment order on 24.12.2018, preliminary objections has been filed by the assessee. —Hence, the order impugned cannot be faulted with. | 4It is almost the same set of tacts in/W.P.No.2456/2019 relating to the assessment year2013-14 of the very same assessee’s case, wherein thisCourt has quashed the re-assessment order as well asthe demand notice, restoring the proceedings to the fileof the respondent — Assessing Officer to consider thepreliminary objections filed by the petitioner to thereasons recorded by the respondent and conclude there-assessment proceedings in accordance with law in anexpedite manner. Hence, this writ petition deserves tobe disposed of in similar terms. 5Accordingly, the impugned re-assessmentorder at Annexure-F and the demand notice at'Annexure-G relating to the Assessment Year 2011-12.are quashed. The proceedings are restored to the file oftherespondent-AssessingOfficer|TOredo.the assessment considering the preliminary objections filed by the petitioner to the reasons recorded by the respondent as per Annexure-E to the writ petition dated"27.12.2018 and conclude the assessment thereafter in accordance with law in an expedite manner preferably 5Accordingly, the impugned re-assessmentorder at Annexure-F and the demand notice at'Annexure-G relating to the Assessment Year 2011-12.are quashed. The proceedings are restored to the file oftherespondent-AssessingOfficer|TOredo.the assessment considering the preliminary objections filed by the petitioner to the reasons recorded by the respondent as per Annexure-E to the writ petition dated"27.12.2018 and conclude the assessment thereafter in accordance with law in an expedite manner preferably within a period of twelve weeks from the date of receipt of the certified copy of the order. With the aforesaid observations and directions, writ petition stands disposed of, PMR Sd/-. JUDGE