Rajesh Kumar Jain v. Income Tax Officer and Another

Punjab & Haryana HC17 Feb 2025CWP/4277/2025

Case brief

AI extract

What is this about?

Section 148 notice; Section 148A(b) show cause notice; Section 148A(d) order; AY 2019-2020; NFAC exclusive jurisdiction; CBDT circular/notification 29.03.2022; Jatinder Singh Bhangu CWP 15745-2024 (19.07.2024); Jasjit Singh CWP 21509-2023 (29.07.2024); Income Tax Act 1961; writ disposed in terms of Co-ordinate Bench decisions; liberty to revenue to proceed afresh; Punjab & Haryana High Court; Karnal.

What did the court decide?

Writ petition disposed of in terms of Jatinder Singh Bhangu (supra) and Jasjit Singh (supra); the revenue is left at liberty to follow the procedure laid down under the Act, 1961 and proceed accordingly, if so advised. All pending applications, if any, also stand disposed of. ¶para 7

Rajesh Kumar Jain Vs Income Tax Officer and Another — Income Tax | Punjab & Haryana HC (2025)

What the court decided

AI extract

Outcome

¶para 7

Issue for consideration

Whether the Issuing Authority had jurisdiction to issue the Section 148 notice, Section 148A(d) order and Section 148A(b) show cause notice for AY 2019-2020, given the CBDT circular/notification dated 29.03.2022 vesting exclusive power to issue Section 148 notices in the NFAC. +1 more

¶para 5

Court's answer

The present writ petition is disposed of in terms of the Co-ordinate Bench decisions in Jatinder Singh Bhangu (supra), decided on 19.07.2024, and Jasjit Singh (supra), decided on 29.07.2024.

¶para 7

Ratio / Principle

Consistently with the terms of those Co-ordinate Bench decisions, the revenue is left at liberty to follow the procedure laid down under the Act, 1961 and proceed accordingly, if so advised.

¶para 6

Detailed headnote1 paragraphs

Punjab & Haryana High Court (DB: Arun Palli and Sudeepti Sharma, JJ.; judgment delivered by Sudeepti Sharma, J.) disposed of CWP-4277-2025 (O&M) on 17.02.2025. The petition challenged (i) notice dated 06.04.2023 under Section 148, (ii) order dated 06.04.2023 under Section 148A(d), and (iii) show cause notice dated 15.03.2023 under Section 148A(b) of the Income Tax Act, 1961, all for AY 2019-2020, on the ground that, per CBDT circular/notification dated 29.03.2022, the NFAC alone has exclusive power to issue Section 148 notices, so the Issuing Authority lacked jurisdiction. Learned counsel for the petitioner asserted the matter was covered by Co-ordinate Bench rulings in Jatinder Singh Bhangu (CWP No. 15745-2024, decided 19.07.2024) and Jasjit Singh (CWP No. 21509-2023, decided 29.07.2024); counsel for Union of India did not dispute this. The Court disposed of the petition in terms of those decisions, leaving the revenue at liberty to follow the prescribed procedure under the Act, 1961 and proceed afresh, if so advised. All pending applications disposed of. This Bench conducted no independent merits analysis; no monetary quantum involved.

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CWP-4277-2025

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IN THE HIGH COURT OF PUNJAB AND HARYANA AT CHANDIGARH

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139 CWP-4277-2025 (O&M) Date of Decision:-17.02.2025

Rjesh Kumr Jain

....Petitioner

Vs.

Income Tax Officer, Ward 1, Karnal & ors.

¶9

...Respondents

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CORAM: HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE ARUN PALLI HON'BLE MRS. JUSTICE SUDEEPTI SHARMA

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Present: Mr. Vishav Bharti Gupta, Advocates for the petitioner.

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Ms. Gauri Neo Rampal, Sr. Standing counsel (Through VC) with Mr. V. Vedika Rao, Advocate for the respondent-department.

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SUDEEPTI SHARMA, J.

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Challenge in the instant writ petition is to notice dated 06.04.2023 issued under Section 148 of the Income Tax Act, 1961 (for short “Act 1961”); order dated 06.04.2023 issued under Section 148 A(d) of the Act, 1961 and show cause notice dated 15.03.2023 issued under Section 148 A(b) of the Act, 1961 for AY 2019-2020.

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Learned counsel for the petitioner contends that the issue involved in the present writ petition is covered by the judgment passed by a Co-ordinate Bench of this Court in the cases of Jatinder Singh Bhangu vs. Union of India and others , passed in CWP No. 15745-2024 and connected matter, decided on 19.07.2024 and Jasjit Singh vs. Union of India and others (CWP No. 21509-2023 and other connected matters), decided on 29.07.2024 .

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Learned counsel appearing for Union of India has also not

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Gaurav Arora 2025.03.19 17:27 I attest to the accuracy and integrity of this document

CWP-4277-2025

disputed the same.

We have heard learned counsel for the parties and perused the whole records of the case.

¶23

The petitioner has challenged the notice dated 06.04.2023 issued under Section 148 of the Act, 1961; order dated 06.04.2023 issued under Section 148 A(d) of the Act, 1961 and show cause notice dated 15.03.2023 issued under Section 148 A(b) of the Act, 1961 for AY 20192020, on the ground that the Issuing Authority had no jurisdiction to issue the same, in view of the circular/notification dated 29.03.2022 of the CBDT, wherein, it has been specifically enumerated that the NFAC has exclusive power to issue the notice under Section 148 of the Act, 1961.

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A Co-ordinate Bench of this Court in Jatinder Singh Bhangu’s case (supra) and Jasjit Singh’s case (supra), allowed the writ petitions on the same issue, as raised in the present writ petition, by granting liberty to the revenue to follow the procedure as laid down under the Act, 1961 and proceed accordingly, if so advised.

¶25

In view of the above, the present writ petition is disposed of, in terms of Jatinder Singh Bhangu’s case (supra), decided on 19.07.2024 and Jasjit Singh’s case (supra), decided on 29.07.2024

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All the pending applications, if any, also stand disposed of.

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(ARUN PALLI) (SUDEEPTI SHARMA) JUDGE JUDGE

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17.02.2025 Gaurav Arora

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Whether speaking/reasoned : Yes/No Whether reportable : Yes/No

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Gaurav Arora 2025.03.19 17:27 I attest to the accuracy and integrity of this document

Rajesh Kumar Jain v. Income Tax Officer and Another

Case brief

What is this about?

What did the court decide?

Rajesh Kumar Jain v. Income Tax Officer and Another

Case brief

What is this about?

What did the court decide?

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What the court decided

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