TMI Blog2010 (4) TMI 655X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... No. 2 on several grounds. It appears from the petition that the petitioner whose principal source of income is commission as an insurance agent filed the return of income for the assessment year 2006-07 disclosing a total income of Rs. 4,56,649 from all sources. In respect of the assessment years 2007-08 and 2008-09 she had filed returns disclosing total income of Rs. 12,55,330 and Rs. 15,66,993 respectively. The assessments for the assessment years 2007-08 and 2008-09 are yet to be completed. 3. On or about May 5, 2008 the petitioner made an application before the Commissioner of Income-tax-XII intimating that as she is an insurance agent her Assessing Officer would be Income-tax Officer, Ward 54(2)/GP, Kolkata and, therefore, files ar ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... 8 and 2008-09 exceeded Rs. 10 lakhs no proceeding could be initiated for the said assessment years by the said respondent as any action would be without jurisdiction. During the pendency of the writ petition being W. P. No. 753 of 2009, respondent No. 1 by letter dated July 30, 2009, which is under challenge, intimated that as for the assessment years 2007-08 and 2008-09 the returned income was more than Rs. 10 lakhs, on July 29, 2009 the assessment records including the records of the earlier years had been transferred to respondent No. 2 who is holding jurisdiction over the cases whose returned income was Rs. 10 lakhs and above. Pursuant thereto the learned advocate for the petitioner by letter dated August 11, 2009 requested respondents ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... f opportunity of hearing nor is there any requirement of recording of reason and as it does not speak of an order to be passed, transfer of records is purely an administrative step. Since such step under section 127(3) does not cause any prejudice, no formal order is required to be passed. The submission is since the step taken is in accordance with the procedure laid down in the Handbook issued by the Income-tax Department of which the petitioner is aware, action taken is just and proper. In support of his submission he has relied on the judgment in M. A. E. K. K. Varma v. CBDT [1981] 129 ITR 31 (AP). 7. The question which falls for consideration is whether under section 127 of the Act an Assessing Officer on his own can transfer an in ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... id are not in agreement, the order transferring the case may, similarly, be passed by the Board or any such Director General or Chief Commissioner or Commissioner as the Board may, by notification in the Official Gazette, authorize in this behalf. (3) Nothing in sub-section (1) or sub-section (2) shall be deemed to require any such opportunity to be given where the transfer is from any Assessing Officer or Assessing Officers (whether with or without concurrent jurisdiction) to any other Assessing Officer or Assessing Officers (whether with or without concurrent jurisdiction) and the offices of all such officers are situated in the same city, locality or place." (emphasis supplied) 8. From a reading of the language of section 127(3) ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... to pass any order transferring the case from/to any Assessing Officer(s) if `the offices of all such officers are situated in the same city, locality or place'." (emphasis1 supplied) 10. It is evident that respondent No. 2 had sought to justify his action by stating that the jurisdiction automatically gets vested with the jurisdictional officer and no order under section 127 is required to be passed. In my view, the letter/notice dated October 21, 2009 is patently illegal since it has been held in this judgment that in case of transfer within the same city, locality place although the opportunity of hearing as postulated in section 127(1) and (2) has been dispensed with, other statutory formalities which includes issuing an order are r ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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