The Calcutta High Court directed to provide opportunity of personal hearing in the matter regarding Transfer of Income Tax File from Kolkata to Lucknow.
The Petitioner, Vivek Kumar Goenka, has filed the writ petition challenging the impugned order passed under Section 127 of the Income Tax Act, 1961 transferring the Income Tax File of the petitioner from Kolkata to Lucknow on the ground that the same has been passed without providing any material to the petitioner on the basis of which such decision of transferring the file of the petitioner has been taken and without giving any opportunity of personal hearing in spite of his representation.
Petitioner in support of his contention of non-providing of opportunity of personal hearing, relied on a decision of the Division Bench of the Court, in the case of Nouvelle Advisory Services Private Limited vs. Assistant Commissioner of Income Tax, Circle 13(1), Kolkata & Ors. In this case the Court quashed the transfer of jurisdiction from the Assistant Commissioner of Income Tax / Deputy Commissioner of Income Tax, Circle 13(1), Kolkata to Deputy Commissioner of Income Tax, Central Circle 1, Kanpur, done without giving assessee the opportunity of fair hearing.
Das De, Advocate appearing for the respondents opposes this writ petition by contending that in this case opportunity of hearing was given to the petitioner by way of filing objection but she could not produce any record to show that opportunity of personal hearing was provided to the petitioner or the materials asked for by the petitioner was provided to him.
A Bench of Justice Md Nizamuddin noted that “I find that neither the materials as asked for by the petitioner nor opportunity of personal hearing was provided to the petitioner though in this case a show cause-notice was issued to the petitioner to file objection to the impugned action of transfer of the petitioner’s file but it is the case of the petitioner that he is not able to file any effective objection in view of non-providing of any materials for taking such action of transfer against the petitioner.”
The Court further directed the respondent authority concerned to provide relevant documents to the petitioner indicating the basis for taking such order of transfer of the petitioner’s file and to provide opportunity to file further objection, if such material is supplied and also to give opportunity of personal hearing to the petitioner.
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