The Madras High Court has instructed the Income Tax Officer ( ITO ) to grant the petitioner access to the Income Tax Portal for the purpose of uploading pertinent documents. This directive follows the petitioner’s failure to receive income tax notices due to the oversight of their Chartered Accountant ( CA ), who neglected to inform them about notices sent to the email address created by the CA.
The Petitioner, Subramanian & Co has challenged the assessment orders of A.Y. assessments years 2018-2019 and 2019-2020.
The impugned orders imposed tax liabilities on the petitioner based on judgment assessments. However, the petitioner contended that they were unaware of notices issued via email, as the email account was managed by their accountant. Consequently, the petitioner’s counsel seeks an opportunity for the petitioner to provide an explanation regarding the purported escaped income.
While the respondents argued that the petitioner has the recourse of appealing the decision, they have not availed themselves of this option.
Considering the arguments presented, the bench of Justice B. Pugalendhi found merit in the petitioner’s claim of being uninformed about the notices sent via email, which was managed by their accountant. Recognizing the importance of principles of natural justice, the Court has decided to remit the issue back to the respondents for fresh adjudication.
As part of this remittance, the respondents were directed to open the portal to allow the petitioner to upload relevant details within a two-week period from the receipt of the order. Subsequently, the respondents are required to complete the reopened assessment within two weeks of receiving the uploaded details. With these directions, the writ petitions are disposed of, without any costs incurred. Consequently, all connected miscellaneous petitions were closed.
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