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2015 (8) TMI 20 - HC - Income TaxReopening of the assessment - disallow an expenditure claimed for the Assessment Year 2005-06 to 2010-11 under Section 37 as advertisements, sales promotions expenses, etc. on the ground that it was incurred for the exporter of the liquor and appropriately forms part of the consideration payable for the imported goods by the petitioner - Held that:- We notice that the petitioner had sought a copy of the sanction granted to the Assessing Officer in terms of Section 151 of the Act to issue the impugned reopening notices. The orders disposing of the objections records that as it is administrative sanction and the Assessing Officer is not obliged to provide a copy of the same to assessee. The affidavit-in-reply to the above petition filed by the revenue also does not contain a copy of this sanction, although it does mention that the necessary sanction has been obtained. Mr. Chhotaray, the learned Counsel for the revenue submits that revenue cannot be compelled to give a copy of the sanction to the assessee. We find this attitude of the revenue rather strange. The law requires the sanction to be obtained while issuing notice under Section 151 of the Act as in the absence of appropriate sanction, the proceedings itself are without jurisdiction. We would have expected the revenue to have made a copy of sanction available to the assessee, when sought, of its own. This is the minimum fair play expected of the State. The assessee is not an enemy. The attitude of the revenue seems to be that the assessee has to be taxed and to achieve that object, fair play could be jettisoned. The revenue is certainly expected to ensure that every paisa due to the State is collected but the same has to be only in accordance with law and in compliance with rules of fair play. In the above circumstances, we set aside the three orders dated 15 January 2015 and restore the issue to the Assessing Officer to enable disposal of the petitioner's objections in accordance with the law. So as to avoid the reassessment proceedings becoming time barred, we make clear that the period of 15 weeks from today would stand excluded for the purpose of computing period of limitation under Section 153 of the Act.
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