Vodafone Idea Limited Vs DCIT (Bombay High Court)
Summary: The Bombay High Court considered a writ petition filed by Vodafone Idea Limited challenging a notice dated 19th March 2022 issued under Section 148A(b) of the Income Tax Act, 1961, the order passed under Section 148A(d), and the notice under Section 148, both dated 7th April 2022. The principal challenge concerned the validity of the sanction granted for passing the Section 148A(d) order and issuing the Section 148 notice.
The Petitioner contended that the requisite sanction was invalid because it had been granted by the Principal Commissioner of Income Tax (“PCIT”) rather than the Principal Chief Commissioner of Income Tax (“PCCIT”). The Petitioner had also sought a copy of the sanction, but the Department refused to provide it. According to the affidavit in reply, the Department’s position was that the sanction would be made available during the reassessment proceeding.
The Court noted that the impugned order and notice dated 7th April 2022 expressly stated that the sanctioning authority was the PCIT, Mumbai 5. The matter concerned Assessment Year 2018-19. Since the impugned order and notice were issued beyond three years, the Court held that the sanctioning authority was required to be the PCCIT under Section 151(ii) of the Act. The Court further noted that the proviso to Section 151 had been inserted with effect from 1st April 2023 and was therefore not applicable to the matter.
