Sunil Bhalla Vs DCIT (Delhi High Court)
The Delhi High Court dismissed a writ petition challenging an order passed under Section 148A(d) and the consequential notice issued under Section 148 of the Income Tax Act, 1961 on the ground that the proceedings were allegedly time-barred. The Assessing Officer issued a notice under Section 148A(b) on 28.03.2024 and granted time to file a reply. The petitioner sought adjournments on 05.04.2024 and again on 15.04.2024. The second adjournment request was rejected, and the Assessing Officer passed the order under Section 148A(d) and issued the notice under Section 148 on 16.04.2024. Referring to its decision in a connected matter, the Court explained that under the fifth and sixth provisos to Section 149, the time allowed to an assessee for filing a reply must be excluded while computing limitation. Since no reply was filed, 15.04.2024 was treated as the deemed date of reply. The Court held that the order and notice issued on 16.04.2024 were well within the limitation period and upheld the proceedings.
Core Issue: Whether the order passed under section 148A(d) and the consequential notice issued under section 148 were barred by limitation when the assessee sought adjournments in response to notice under section 148A(b) but ultimately did not file any reply, and whether the period available for filing the reply, including the extended period sought through adjournments, was liable to be excluded under the fifth and sixth provisos to section 149.
