Notice Issued by ACIT after transfer of Jurisdiction Quashed - Cost imposed on Income Tax Department by HC
THE petitioner is the famous Fiat India Automobiles and the main respondents are the ACIT and CIT, Mumbai. The petitioner's assessments were transferred from the jurisdiction of an ACIT in Mumbai to a DCIT in Pune in 2011. After one year in March 2012, the ACIT Mumbai issued a notice to the petitioner proposing to reopen the assessment for the year 2005-06. Two days before the notice, the CIT, Mumbai, in a corrigendum temporarily cancelled the transfer of jurisdiction from Mumbai to Pune. And this corrigendum or a notice to issue a corrigendum was never served on the assessee.
The High Court was not impressed. It found the conduct of the CIT and ACIT as highly deplorable. The High Court observed, Instead of bringing to book the persons who circumvent the provisions of law, the ACIT10(1) Mumbai has himself indulged in circumventing the provisions of law which is totally disgraceful.
The High Court quashed and set aside the impugned notice dated 30.03.2012 issued by the ACIT10(1) Mumbai based on the corrigendum order dated 27.03.2012 passed allegedly by the CIT10 Mumbai at the behest of ACIT10(1) Mumbai and in gross abuse of the process of law.
The High Court also allowed cost of Rs. 10,000 and made it clear that it would be open to the revenue to collect the costs of Rs.10,000/ from the respondents - CIT and ACIT. And a copy of the order is to be sent to the CCIT and CBDT.
Tail spark: The High Court was informed that the CCITVI Mumbai agrees that the impugned actions of CIT10 Mumbai and ACIT10(1) Mumbai are patently unjustified and not as per law but has expressed his helplessness in the matter.
Fortunately, we still have Courts in this country, perhaps much to the dislike of Revenue officers who have only contempt for the Law and Courts and who would run the administration much better with retrospective secret corrigenda if only those irksome courts did not interfere.