Girish Shashikant Rane v. the Principal Commissioner Income Tax and Another
Income Tax – Reassessment
Case brief
What is this about?
WRIT PETITION No. 6049 of 2025, High Court of Judicature at Bombay, Aurangabad Bench, decided 14.01.2026 (Pedneker & Patil-Jadhav JJ., per curiam): Section 148 Income Tax Act, 1961 notice issued by Jurisdictional Assessing Officer (JAO) set aside with all proceedings/orders emanating therefrom; holding that after the faceless reassessment scheme promulgated on 29.03.2022 only the Faceless Assessing Officer (FAO) can issue Section 148 notices, relying on Hexaware Technologies Ltd., (2024) 162 taxmann.com 225 (Bombay); Delhi High Court concurrent JAO/FAO jurisdiction view (T.K.S. Builders Pvt. Ltd., WP(C) No. 1968/2023, 28.10.2024) acknowledged but not followed; liberty to Revenue to revive petition by praecipe if Supreme Court sets aside Hexaware, with conditional stay on the notice upon revival; no revival if SLP dismissed; revived petition to be decided afresh on merits.
What did the court decide?
Impugned notice under Section 148 of the Income Tax Act issued by the JAO set aside, together with all other proceedings/orders emanating therefrom; conditional revival liberty for the Revenue (via praecipe alone) if the Hexaware decision is set aside by the Supreme Court, with an automatic stay on the notice upon revival until further orders; no revival if the SLP against Hexaware is dismissed; revived petition to be decided afresh on merits.