U.K. Paints (Overseas) Ltd Vs ACIT (Delhi High Court)
Delhi High Court held that Larger Bench of Delhi High Court will decide the whether provisions of section 149(1)(c) of the Income Tax Act inserted by virtue of the Finance Act, 2012 will be applicable retrospectively in concluded assessment.
Facts- These petitions impugn separate notices [impugned notices] issued under Section 148 of the Income Tax Act, 1961 [the Act], whereby the concluded assessments of the petitioners for various years were sought to be re-opened.
The petitioners have challenged the impugned notices on several grounds, including: (a) that the notices were issued in the name of a non-existing entity; (b) that the reasons recorded for issuance of the impugned notices did not pertain to the relevant assessment year in respect of which the notices were issued; (c) that the petitioners were non-residents at the material time and, therefore, the information regarding an asset located overseas did not present any reason to believe that the income of the petitioners had escaped assessment; and (d) that the impugned notices are barred by limitation as they were issued beyond the period of six years from the end of the relevant assessment year. In the present case, arguments were heard solely on the ground of limitation and the present common order is confined to the question whether the impugned notices were issued beyond the prescribed period from the end of the relevant assessment year.
