VDA Infosolutions Pvt. Ltd. Vs Union of India & Ors. (Bombay High Court)
The petitioner is a company. It filed return for assessment year 2020-2021. It was issued notice under section 148 of the Income Tax Act on 29.03.2024, pursuant to order passed under section 148A(d) of the said act came to be passed. The same was challenged in the present writ petition. The challenge, amongst other grounds, was on the ground that the notice is issued by the jurisdictional assessing officer (JAO) and not by the faceless assessing officer (FAO) in terms of section 151A of the Act and hence, without jurisdiction.
The Hon’ble Bombay High Court allows the petition and quashed the notice and order passed under section 148A(d) of the Act.
It held:
(i) the notice issued by the JAO is non-est and ought to have been issued by the FAO;
(ii) in as much as the procedure under section 151A(2) of the Act has not been followed the entire proceedings are without jurisdiction;
(iii) follows Bombay High Court ruling in Hexaware International case, Nainraj Enterprises case and Kairos case allows the petition without going into other issues.
The matter was argued by Ld. Counsel. Bharat Raichandani
