Katiyar Cold Storage Private Limited Vs Union of India And 2 Others (Allahabad High Court)
The petitioner challenged the jurisdictional notice issued under Section 148 of the Income Tax Act, 1961, and the reassessment proceedings initiated on the basis of information relating to cash deposits. During the hearing, the Court considered the counter affidavit filed by the Income Tax Department, which explained that the Assessing Authority had received information from the bank through Form 61A regarding cash deposits.
According to the counter affidavit, there was an error in the uploaded information. A cash deposit of ₹2,06,58,500 had been uploaded six times, resulting in an incorrect aggregate figure of ₹12,39,51,000. In addition, there was separate information regarding another cash deposit of ₹10,63,500, bringing the total reported deposits to ₹12,50,14,500. The Department clarified that the amount of ₹12,39,51,000 actually represented repeated reporting of the same cash deposit of ₹2,06,58,500 in the Union Bank of India account.
After considering the material on record, the Court observed that the Assessing Authority possessed information regarding a cash deposit of ₹2,06,58,500 and that such information was neither irrelevant nor unfounded. The Court also referred to its earlier order dated 05.05.2022, in which it had prima facie observed that the reasons recorded by the Assessing Authority were based on relevant material indicating possible escapement of income. Consequently, the Court had held that the jurisdictional notice issued under Section 148 could not, at that stage, be regarded as being without jurisdiction.
