Ramachandra Reddy Vs DCIT (Karnataka High Court)
The Karnataka High Court addressed a bunch of writ petitions involving a common jurisdictional issue regarding the validity of income tax notices issued by jurisdictional Assessing Officers (JAOs) rather than through a faceless regime.
Background of the Petitions
1. Writ Petition No. 28182 of 2024: An individual assessee filed a return of income for the assessment year 2017-18. Following search and seizure operations on third parties in 2018, the JAO issued a notice under Section 148A(a) of the Income Tax Act, 1961, requesting information regarding the sale of immovable property. Subsequently, a show cause notice under Section 148A(b) was issued. The petitioner challenged the proceedings, arguing that following a Government of India notification dated March 29, 2022, notices could not be issued physically by the JAO and had to emerge via a faceless regime.
2. Writ Petition No. 17352 of 2022: A service-providing company challenged a Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) instruction dated May 11, 2022, and a notice under Section 148 issued against a non-existing entity seeking to reopen the assessment for the assessment year 2017-18. The company raised multiple grounds, notably that the JAO lacked jurisdiction to initiate proceedings post the introduction of the faceless regime.
Comments are closed.