Vodafone Idea Limited Vs DCIT (Bombay High Court)
Vodafone Idea Limited filed a petition before the Bombay High Court challenging a notice dated 19 March 2022 issued under Section 148A(b) of the Income Tax Act, 1961, the subsequent order under Section 148A(d), and the reassessment notice dated 7 April 2022 issued under Section 148 of the Act. The petitioner contended that the sanction for passing the order and issuing the notice was invalid, as it was granted by the Principal Commissioner of Income Tax (PCIT) instead of the Principal Chief Commissioner of Income Tax (PCCIT), as required by law.
The petitioner also sought a copy of the sanction, which the Department denied, refusing disclosure even in its affidavit in reply. The Court observed that there was no justification for withholding such information and remarked that it was unclear why the Department treated the sanction as confidential when the assessee was entitled to access it. The Department stated that the sanction would be provided during the reassessment proceedings.
The Court noted that both the impugned order and notice dated 7 April 2022 mentioned that the sanctioning authority was the PCIT, Mumbai-5. Since the matter pertained to Assessment Year 2018–19 and the notices were issued beyond three years, Section 151(ii) required the sanction of the PCCIT. The Court clarified that the proviso to Section 151, inserted with effect from 1 April 2023, was not applicable to this case.
