Zaheer Syed Abbas Vs Union of India & Ors. (Bombay High Court)
The Bombay High Court allowed the writ petition filed by the erstwhile director of Cicero Realty Ventures Pvt. Ltd. (CRVPL), challenging the notice dated 31 March 2021 issued under Section 148 of the Income-tax Act, 1961 for Assessment Year 2016-17 and the consequential assessment order dated 30 March 2022 passed under Sections 144 read with 147. CRVPL had applied for voluntary strike-off under Section 248 of the Companies Act, 2013 on 3 May 2017, and its name was struck off by the Registrar of Companies on 2 July 2018. Before dissolution, CRVPL had filed its return of income on 30 September 2016. During the original scrutiny proceedings, notices under Sections 143(2) and 142(1) were issued, and the petitioner informed the Assessing Officer through communications dated 30 November 2018 and 14 December 2018 that the company had already been struck off and dissolved. Despite this, an assessment order under Section 143(3) dated 26 December 2018 was passed in the name of CRVPL accepting its returned income as nil.
Subsequently, the Assessing Officer issued a notice under Section 148 on 31 March 2021 seeking to reopen the assessment to examine the genuineness of the source of share capital and the applicability of Section 56(2)(vii)(b) of the Act. The petitioner again informed the Revenue by letter dated 7 June 2021 that CRVPL had ceased to exist and relied upon judicial precedents. Nevertheless, the Assessing Officer passed an assessment order dated 30 March 2022 under Sections 144 read with 147 determining the total income of CRVPL at ₹25,66,70,000 and raising a tax demand of ₹16,25,55,840 through a demand notice under Section 156 in the name of the dissolved company.
