Ravi Constructions Vs ACIT (Madras High Court)
Summary: The Madras High Court dismissed the writ petition filed by Ravi Constructions challenging the order dated 28.04.2022 under Section 148A(d) and consequential notice dated 28.04.2022 under Section 148 of the Income Tax Act for AY 2015-2016. The petitioner had filed its return on 30.09.2015 declaring total income of Rs.22,83,270/-. It contended that the limitation under the old reassessment regime had expired and that the proceedings initiated under the new regime were therefore without jurisdiction. Reliance was placed, inter alia, on the Supreme Court decisions in Union of India Vs. Ashish Agarwal, Union of India Vs. Rajeev Bansal and Deepak Steel and Power Limited Vs. Central Board of Direct Taxes. The Revenue relied upon the exclusion of the period available to the assessee to respond to a Section 148A(b) notice under the third proviso to Section 149. The Court held that the Section 148A(b) notice was issued on 31.03.2022, and the time available for passing the Section 148A(d) order was extended by the statutory exclusion. Since the petitioner’s reply was filed on 21.04.2022, the Assessing Officer had time until 21.05.2022, whereas the Section 148A(d) order was passed on 28.04.2022. The Court therefore held the Section 148 notice to be within time. It also rejected the contention that entries recovered during the Section 133A survey could not constitute “assets”, holding the definition of asset under Section 149(1)(b) to be inclusive and the subsequent amendment clarificatory. The writ petition was dismissed and the respondent was directed to complete the assessment proceedings expeditiously.
