Case Law Details
Jaswantlal J Shah Vs ACIT (ITAT Mumbai)
In ground No.1 of appeal, the assessee has impugned the validity of assessment order on the ground that the Assessing Officer has no jurisdiction to pass the assessment order. The short contention of the assessee is that before changing jurisdiction of the Assessing Officer under section 127 of the Act, the same was not communicated to the assessee. The provisions of section 127(1) & (2) of the Act mandate that the competent authority after giving reasonable opportunity of hearing to the assessee and after recording the reasons for doing so shall pass the order transferring jurisdiction of any case from one Assessing Officer subordinate to him to any other Assessing Officer also subordinate to him. However, sub-section (3) to section 127 provides an exception to the above statutory provision i.e. where the jurisdiction of Assessing Officer is transferred from one Assessing Officer to another Assessing Officer within the same city, locality or place, there is no mandatory requirement to provide opportunity of hearing to the assessee. For the sake of ready reference the relevant provisions of subsection (3) to section 127 of the Act are reproduced herein below:-
“(3) Nothing in sub-section (1) or sub-section (2) shall be deemed to require any such opportunity to be given where the transfer is from any Assessing Officer or Assessing Officers (whether with or without concurrent jurisdiction) to any other Assessing Officer or Assessing Officers (whether with or without concurrent jurisdiction) and the offices of all such officers are situated in the same city, locality or place.”
In the present case, undisputedly the assessee’s case has been transferred from DCIT-15(2), Mumbai to ACIT, Central Circle-32, Mumbai i.e. the change in jurisdiction of Assessing Officer is within the same city. Hence, there was no statutory requirement for notice or prior intimation for change in jurisdiction to the assessee.
We have also considered the case laws on which the assessee has placed reliance. We find that in all the three decisions relied by assessee, the transfer of jurisdiction of the assessing officer was either covered by the provisions of sub-section (1) or subsection (2) of section 127 of the Act. Thus, the said decisions does not provide any support to the contents of the assessee, being factually at variance. In the case of Advantage Strategic Consulting (P) Ltd. Vs. PCIT (supra), the Hon’ble Madras High Court after considering various decisions (including the decisions relied by the assessee herein) held that where the jurisdiction of Assessing Officer is transferred within the same city, the assessee cannot pled for opportunity to be granted before an order of transfer, as there is no such statutory requirement under the Act, rather, the said procedure has been specifically excluded.
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