APS Hydro Private Limited Vs Union of India & Ors. (Delhi High Court)
The case before the Delhi High Court concerned the validity of a notice dated 16.02.2022 and a corresponding order dated 12.05.2022 issued by the Income Tax Department, treating the petitioner as an assessee in default under Section 220(1) of the Income Tax Act, 1961.
The petitioner contended that no prior orders or intimations under Sections 154, 143(1)(a), or 271(1)(c) were ever served upon it. According to the petitioner, it became aware of the alleged tax demands only upon receipt of the impugned notice. It was argued that if such significant demands had actually been raised earlier, the petitioner would have taken appropriate remedial action.
The Department, in response, claimed that the relevant intimations and orders had been sent via email. However, no specific dates of such communications were provided. The Court noted that this absence of details made it difficult to accept the Department’s assertion of proper service.
The impugned notice included multiple demands spanning several assessment years from 2011–12 to 2019–20, with amounts running into lakhs of rupees. The earliest demand dated back to 09.02.2013. The Court observed that even if it were assumed that emails had been sent, it would be contrary to normal conduct for an assessee to ignore such substantial liabilities without taking any remedial steps.
