Smt Bhagyamma Vs ITO (Karnataka High Court)
Homemaker Misses Portal Notices, Ex Parte Reassessment & Penalties Set Aside – Karnataka HC Restores Matter to Section 148A(b) Stage
Summary: In Smt Bhagyamma v. Income Tax Officer, the Karnataka High Court partly allowed a writ petition concerning reassessment proceedings for AY 2018-19 and restored the matter to the jurisdictional Assessing Officer for reconsideration after giving the petitioner an opportunity to respond to the notices issued u/s 148A(b) of the Income-tax Act, 1961.
The petitioner had challenged the assessment order dated 05.03.2024 passed u/s 147 r/w section 144, the consequential demand notice u/s 156, penalty orders u/s 272A(1)(d) and 270A, the corresponding penalty demands, the notices dated 16.03.2022 and 23.03.2022 u/s 148A(b), the order dated 01.04.2022 u/s 148A(d) and the notice u/s 148 dated 01.04.2022.
The reassessment proceedings originated after the petitioner sold an immovable property acquired from her parents-in-law for a consideration of Rs.66,00,000/-. According to the petitioner’s submissions, the purchaser deducted 1% of the sale consideration as TDS and remitted it to the Department, and that remittance flagged the reassessment proceedings. The petitioner asserted that she was a homemaker without a digital footprint except for registration of PAN, and that she had reinvested a substantial part of the sale consideration in purchasing another residential property and was therefore entitled to exemption from Capital Gains Tax.
