Ameeta Goyal Vs Assessment Unit of Income Tax & Ors (Delhi High Court)
Summary : The Delhi High Court decided a writ petition filed by Ameeta Goyal challenging the show cause notice dated 20 August 2024 and seeking acceptance of her returned income for Assessment Year (AY) 2013–14, claiming that the reassessment proceedings were time-barred under Section 153(2) of the Income Tax Act, 1961. The petitioner also sought directions for credit and refund of taxes paid for AYs 2012–13 and 2013–14 in connection with an earlier Settlement Commission application.
The petitioner had originally filed her return of income for AY 2013–14 on 27 July 2013, declaring an income of ₹10,46,563. On 15 December 2016, she filed an application before the Income Tax Settlement Commission, disclosing additional income for AYs 2012–13 to 2016–17 and paid an additional ₹77,35,000 as taxes for AY 2013–14. The Settlement Commission accepted her applications for AYs 2015–16 and 2016–17 but rejected those for AYs 2012–13 and 2013–14. The rejection was challenged before the High Court in W.P.(C) 3928/2017 (Sushil Kumar Goyal & Ors. v. PCIT-1 & Ors).
During the pendency of that case, the Assessing Officer (AO) issued a notice under Section 148 on 20 March 2019 for AY 2013–14. The petitioner filed a return in response and also moved an application in the pending writ proceedings seeking to stay the reassessment, which was later withdrawn with liberty to file a separate petition. The reasons for reopening were furnished on 29 September 2019, following which the petitioner filed W.P.(C) 13436/2019, challenging the Section 148 notice. The High Court granted an interim stay on reassessment proceedings on 20 December 2019, directing that if any order was passed, it would not be given effect to.
