Uber India Systems Private Limited Vs Assistant Commissioner of Income & Ors. (Bombay High Court)
Bombay High Court quashed an income tax notice issued to Uber India Research and Development Private Limited, an entity that ceased to exist following its amalgamation with Uber India Systems Private Limited. The court held that issuing a notice to a non-existent company is legally untenable. The amalgamation was approved by the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) on November 1, 2023, and was effective from April 1, 2022. Despite being informed of this development in December 2023, the Income Tax Department issued a notice under Section 148A(b) of the Income Tax Act on March 31, 2024, seeking to reassess the company’s tax liabilities for the Assessment Year 2017-18. The petitioner objected to the notice on the grounds that it was issued to an entity that no longer existed, but the objections were rejected by the tax authorities, leading to further legal proceedings.
The court relied on precedents, including Principal Commissioner of Income Tax v. Maruti Suzuki India Ltd. and Teleperformance Global Services (P.) Ltd. v. Assistant Commissioner of Income Tax, to reinforce the principle that tax notices issued to non-existent entities are invalid. The court also addressed jurisdictional concerns, concluding that since the petitioner received the notice in Mumbai, a part of the cause of action arose within the court’s jurisdiction. Ultimately, the court ruled that the notice was illegal and non-est (void from the outset), making the rule absolute in favor of the petitioner. However, it clarified that its decision was limited to the validity of the notice and did not adjudicate other potential tax liabilities of the petitioner.
