Anup Kumar Agarwal Vs Union of India & Ors. (Calcutta High Court)
In the case of Anup Kumar Agarwal vs. Union of India & Ors. before the Calcutta High Court, the petitioner challenged the issuance of a show cause notice under Section 148A(b) of the Income Tax Act, 1961, and the subsequent adjudication order under Section 148A(d) for the assessment year 2017-18. The petitioner also contested a notice under Section 148, arguing it should have been issued in a faceless manner as mandated by Section 151A.
The petitioner, represented by advocate Ray, pointed out that only five days were given to respond to the notice, instead of the required seven days, and a requested personal hearing was not granted. Despite the petitioner responding to the show cause notice, advocate Dutt, representing the respondents, admitted that no personal hearing had been provided.
The court, acknowledging these procedural lapses, decided to remand the matter back to the jurisdictional assessing officer. The adjudication order dated 30th March 2024 was set aside, allowing the petitioner ten days to submit an additional response. The assessing officer is to provide a personal hearing and issue a reasoned order within eight weeks.
Consequently, the notice under Section 148 dated 30th March 2024 was also set aside. The court did not address the jurisdictional issue regarding the competence to issue the Section 148 notice, given the decision to remand the case. The writ petition was disposed of with instructions for all parties to act based on the server copy of the court’s order.
