Chandra Prakash Srivastava Ex Director of Aten Portfolio Managers Private Limited Vs ITO (Delhi High Court)
Delhi High Court has set aside a reassessment notice issued to Chandra Prakash Srivastava, former director of Aten Portfolio Managers Private Limited, for Assessment Year (AY) 2015-16. The decision, delivered on an early hearing application, hinges on a crucial concession made by the Revenue before the Supreme Court regarding the applicability of reassessment notices issued after April 1, 2021, for AY 2015-16.
The petitioner had challenged an order dated July 28, 2022, passed under Section 148A(d) of the Income Tax Act, 1961, along with the corresponding notice issued under Section 148 of the Act, initiating reassessment proceedings for AY 2015-16. The petitioner company had initially filed its return of income for AY 2015-16 on September 30, 2015, declaring a loss.
The Assessing Officer (AO) had initially issued a Section 148 notice on June 28, 2021, seeking to reopen the assessment. This notice was issued after March 31, 2021, but followed the reassessment procedure in force prior to the amendments introduced by the Finance Act, 2021.
Subsequently, on May 25, 2022, the AO referred to the Supreme Court’s decision in Union of India & Ors. v. Ashish Agarwal: (2022) 444 ITR 1. In this case, the Supreme Court had rationalized the reassessment notices issued under the old regime between April 1, 2021, and June 30, 2021, deeming them as notices under the new Section 148A(b) of the Act. The AO, in light of this, forwarded information suggesting escaped income, treating the original June 2021 notice as a Section 148A(b) notice. The petitioner responded to this communication on June 6, 2022.
