Rajesh Chopra Vs ITO (Delhi High Court)
Delhi High Court held that where notice is sent electronically, the date of dispatch of e-mail is to be considered as date of issue of notice and date of digital signature is irrelevant. Accordingly, petition dismissed.
Facts- The petitioner has filed the present petition under Article 226 of the Constitution of India impugning a notice dated 30.05.2022 issued under Section 148A(b) of the Income Tax Act, 1961; an order dated 22.07.2022 passed under Section 148A(d) of the Act; and a notice dated 22.07.2022 issued under Section 148 of the Act pursuant to the impugned order in respect of the assessment year 2013-14. The petitioner contends that the impugned notice has been issued beyond the period of limitation as prescribed under Section 149(1) of the Act and therefore, is liable to be set aside.
Conclusion- Held that where the notice is sent electronically, the date of dispatch of the e-mail is to be considered as the date of issue of the notice. Thus, in this case the date of issue of notice would have to be taken as 01.04.2021. As stated at the outset, if there is no dispute that the date of issuance of notice is considered as 01.04.2021, then the said notice was required to be treated as a notice under Section 148A(b) of the Act in terms of the decision of the Supreme Court in Union of India and Ors. v. Ashish Agarwal.
