Corteva Agriscience Seeds Pvt. Ltd. Vs ACIT (ITAT Delhi)
Delhi ITAT quashed the final assessment of Corteva Agriscience Seeds Pvt. Ltd. for AY 2018-19 as barred by limitation under section 144C(13). The Tribunal held that the date of uploading of DRP directions on the ITBA portal is the decisive date for computing limitation in the faceless regime, not the date on which an intimation email is received by the AO or NEAC.
In the present case, DRP directions were dated 27-06-2022 and uploaded on ITBA on 28-06-2022. Accordingly, the AO was statutorily required to pass the final order by 31-07-2022 (one month from the end of June). However, the final assessment order was passed on 30-08-2022, clearly beyond the permissible time limit.
Rejecting Revenue’s plea that limitation should run from 07-07-2022 (date of email receipt), ITAT held that uploading on ITBA constitutes valid & complete communication under the faceless assessment scheme. Reliance was placed on binding precedents including Louis Dreyfus Company India (P) Ltd. (Delhi HC), PCIT vs Fiberhome India (P) Ltd., Sterling Oil Resources Ltd., Rapiscan Systems (P) Ltd., and other consistent rulings.
Since the statutory timeline was breached, the assessment order was held to be illegal, bad in law & void ab initio and was accordingly quashed, with the assessee’s appeal allowed in full.
FULL TEXT OF THE ORDER OF ITAT DELHI
The instant appeal, filed by the assessee, is directed against the Assessment Order dated 30.08.2022 (DIN & Order No. ITBA/AST/S/143(3)/2022-23/1045081748(1) passed by the Assistant Commissioner of Income Tax, Circle 19(1), Delhi, under Section 143(3) r.w.s. 144C(13) of the Income Tax Act, 1961 (hereinafter referred to as “the Act”), pursuant to the directions of the Dispute Resolution Panel (“DRP”) under Section 144C(5) of the Act for the Assessment Year 2018-19.
