Sunil Bakht Vs ADIT (Supreme Court of India)
In the case of Sunil Bakht vs ADIT (Supreme Court of India), the petitioner challenged the imposition of an excess surcharge on income tax for the assessment year 2022-2023. The Special Leave Petition (SLP) was filed after the High Court dismissed the petitioner’s writ on 28.02.2024, citing that an alternative remedy was available. Notably, a similar surcharge issue occurred in the assessment year 2021-2022, and the High Court had then ruled in favor of the petitioner, ordering a refund of Rs. 1.33 Crores. For the current case, the Revenue admitted that the excess surcharge was an error, and the amount had already been refunded to the petitioner on 06.06.2024.
However, during the proceedings, another demand notice was issued on 28.05.2024 for the assessment year 2023-2024, demanding an additional Rs. 62.85 lakh as surcharge. The Revenue’s counsel explained that the Central Processing Centre (CPC) had a recurring software issue, which incorrectly calculated and raised excessive demands. The Supreme Court criticized the Revenue and the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) for allowing such technical errors to continue and demanded immediate action. The Court emphasized that technological shortcomings should not cause harassment to taxpayers, urging the Revenue to upgrade their software to prevent future mistakes.
