Lakhvinder Singh Gill Vs ITO (Panjab Haryana High Court)
The Punjab and Haryana High Court has affirmed that the National Faceless Assessment Centre (NFAC) holds exclusive authority for issuing notices in faceless assessment proceedings under Section 148 and Section 148A of the Income Tax Act, 1961. The court’s decision was made in a petition filed by Lakhvinder Singh Gill, who challenged a notice issued by a jurisdictional Assessing Officer.
The petitioner argued that the notice, dated April 9, 2024, was invalid because, according to a CBDT circular/notification dated March 29, 2022, the NFAC alone has the power to issue such notices. The court, relying on precedents from its own benches, agreed with the petitioner’s stance.
The judgment cited two previous rulings, Jatinder Singh Bhangu v. Union of India and Jasjit Singh v. Union of India, both of which addressed the same issue. The court’s ruling in the Jatinder Singh Bhangu case was referenced, which stated that Section 151A makes the faceless assessment scheme applicable from the show-cause notice stage. The court emphasized that the objective of faceless assessment would be defeated if jurisdictional AOs were allowed to issue these notices. It also reiterated that departmental circulars cannot override statutory provisions.
