Case Law Details
Sushil Kumar Goyal Vs PCIT (Delhi High Court)
Delhi High Court held that the legislative history of Section 245A of the Income Tax Act indicates that the proceedings for assessment, re-assessment and re-computation u/s. 148, prior to issuance of notice u/s. 148 of the Act, were excluded from the scope of the definition of the term ‘case’. Literal interpretation of language of section 245A is justifiable.
Facts- The petitioners have filed the present petition impugning orders dated 06.02.2017 and 09.02.2017 passed by the Income Tax Settlement Commission (hereafter ‘the Commission’) under Section 245D(1) of the Income Tax Act, 1961, to the limited extent that the settlement applications filed by the petitioners under Section 245C(1) of the Act were held to be invalid for the Assessment Years 2012-13 and 2013-14.
Conclusion- The legislative history of Section 245A of the Income Tax Act clearly indicates that the proceedings for assessment, re-assessment and re-computation under section 148 of the Income Tax Act, prior to issuance of notice under Section 148 of the Income Tax Act, were excluded from the scope of the definition of the term ‘case’. Such proceedings have been included by virtue of the Finance Act, 2015 albeit on certain conditions being satisfied as noted hereinbefore.
We find no merit in the contention that the literal interpretation of the provision is contrary to the legislative intent. On the contrary, retaining the Explanation to Section 245A of the Act (and subsequently amending it) serves the intended purpose of sufficiently explaining the scope of Section 245A of the Act. There is no ambiguity in Section 245A of the Act that makes it necessary or apposite for the court to discard the literal interpretation of the language of Section 245A of the Act.
Please become a Premium member. If you are already a Premium member, login here to access the full content.
Author Bio
