Paradise Food Court Private Limited Vs DCIT (Telangana High Court)
Telangana High Court Declines Writ Petition Challenging Income Tax Intimation Due to Delay and Availability of Alternate Remedy – Assessee Directed to Approach ITAT Instead of Invoking Writ Jurisdiction After Five Years
The High Court for the State of Telangana in Paradise Food Court Private Limited v. Deputy Commissioner of Income Tax, Circle-5(1), Hyderabad & Another dismissed a writ petition challenging an intimation issued under Section 143(1) of the Income Tax Act, 1961 on the ground of enormous delay and availability of an alternate statutory remedy before the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT).
The Division Bench comprising P. Sam Koshy and Narsing Rao Nandikonda held that the petitioner, having already availed the first appellate remedy before the Commissioner of Income Tax (Appeals), ought to have pursued the second statutory appeal before the ITAT instead of directly invoking writ jurisdiction under Article 226 of the Constitution of India.
Introduction
The Income Tax Act, 1961 provides a structured hierarchy of remedies against assessment orders and intimations issued by tax authorities. Courts exercising writ jurisdiction under Article 226 ordinarily refrain from entertaining petitions where effective statutory appellate remedies are available.
At the same time, disputes frequently arise concerning the interplay between proceedings under Sections 143(1), 143(2), and 143(3) of the Act. Courts have previously examined whether an intimation under Section 143(1) can survive once scrutiny assessment proceedings under Section 143(2) culminate in a regular assessment under Section 143(3).
