Krishan Gopal Gupta Vs PCIT (Rajasthan High Court)
The Rajasthan High Court addressed the validity of a notice issued under Section 148 of the Income Tax Act, 1961, in the case of Krishan Gopal Gupta vs. Principal Commissioner of Income Tax. The central issue revolved around the fact that the notice was issued by a Jurisdictional Assessing Officer (JAO) instead of a Faceless Assessing Officer (FAO).
The court’s decision to quash and set aside the notice, dated June 24, 2025, was based on established judicial precedents. Specifically, the court followed its own earlier rulings in Shree Cement Limited vs. Assistant Commissioner of Income-Tax & Others, Sharda Devi Chhajer vs. The Income Tax Officer & Another, and Hexaware Technologies Ltd. vs. Assistant Commissioner of Income-tax. These precedents held that such notices, when issued by a JAO, are invalid.
While acknowledging that the Revenue had filed a Special Leave Petition with the Supreme Court against the Hexaware Technologies judgment, the Rajasthan High Court decided to grant the petitioner’s request. The court, however, provided a crucial caveat. It granted the Revenue the liberty to revive the notice in the future, should the Supreme Court interfere with or overturn the precedent-setting judgments.
The petition was disposed of, with the court leaving open all other rights and contentions of the parties for an appropriate stage. Consequently, any pending applications related to the case and any re-assessment order that might have been passed were also set aside.
