In a recent decision, the Delhi High Court has quashed the reassessment proceedings initiated by the Income Tax Officer (ITO) in relation to Assessment Year (AY) 2017-18.
The judgment was delivered by the Division Bench of Justice Rajiv Shakdher and Justice Girish Kathpalia.
The writ petition was filed by Deepak Jain, represented by Nitin Gulati, challenging the validity of the reassessment proceedings initiated against him.
The petitioner contended that the proceedings lacked the approval of the specified authority and that the escaped income, as acknowledged by the revenue authorities, fell below the threshold requirement prescribed under Section 149(1)(b) of the Income Tax Act, 1961.
During the hearing, the court had noted that the escaped income amounted to Rs.30,70,526/-, which was below the statutory threshold of Rs.50,00,000/-. Aseem Chawla, the senior standing counsel representing the respondents/revenue, accepted this contention.
Furthermore, the court observed that more than three years had passed since the end of the Assessment Year in question.
As per the court’s earlier directions, if the department intended to contest the petition, a counter-affidavit was to be filed. However, no counter-affidavit was submitted, the bench observed.
Consequently, considering the facts stated in the writ petition as correct, the court allowed the prayer made by the petitioner and quashed the impugned notice issued under Section 148A(b) and the order passed under Section 148A(d) of the Income Tax Act, 1961.
The consequential notice issued under Section 148 of the Income Tax Act on the same date was also quashed by the Delhi High Court.
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