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TMI Blog2019 (6) TMI 1182X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... . 'Show Cause Notice' shall hereinafter be referred to as 'SCN' for the sake of brevity, clarity and convenience. 4. This matter is listed under the caption 'FOR ADMISSION' today in the motion list. 5. Ms.Pushya Sitaraman, learned Senior Counsel on behalf of the counsel on record for the writ petitioner is before this Court. Mr.Naveen Durai Babu, learned Junior Standing Counsel for Income Tax accepts notice on behalf of both the respondents. To be noted, there are two respondents in the instant writ petition and both the respondents are official respondents. 6. In the aforesaid scenario, with the consent of learned counsel on both sides, the main writ petition itself is taken up. With the consent of both sides main writ petition is being heard out and the same is being disposed of. 7. Short facts shorn of unnecessary particulars and details or in other words facts that are imperative for appreciating this order are as follows: (a) the petitioner is engaged in the business of export of software and 'Information Technology Enabling Services' ('ITES' for brevity) and is registered as a 'Software Technology Park of India' Unit (' ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... reciating this order, this Court now proceeds to capture the submissions made by learned Senior Counsel for the writ petitioner. 9. Learned Senior Counsel for the writ petitioner assailed the impugned SCN on the grounds which can be summarised as below: (a) impugned SCN is in a template and therefore, it is not clear as to whether the impugned SCN has been issued on the basis that the writ petitioner has 'concealed particulars of income' or 'furnished inaccurate particulars' of such income. (b) in support of the proposition that 'concealing particulars of income' and 'furnishing of inaccurate particulars of income' are expressions which fall and operate in different realms Commissioner of Income Tax Vs. SSA's Emerald Meadows reported in (2015) 94 CCH 0334 KarHC, Commissioner of Income Tax Vs. Samson Perinchery reported in (2017) 392 ITS 4 (Bom), Muninaga Reddy Vs. Assistant Commissioner of Income-TAx reported in (2017) 396 ITR 398 (Kar), Principal Commissioner of Income Tax Vs. Baisetty Revathi reported in (2017) 398 ITR 88 (AP) and T.Ashok Pai Vs. Commissioner of Income Tax reported in (2007) 292 ITR 11W (SC) were pressed into service. 10. ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... which the noticee has to meet specifically and therefore should be construed to be vague. It was urged that no penalty can be imposed on the assessee on such a vague notice and that Karnataka High Court judgment i.e., in Manjunatha Cotton Principle buttress the submission. 14. This Court now proceeds to carefully consider the submissions made on both sides. 15. The proposition that the grounds of 'concealment of income' and 'furnishing of inaccurate particulars' qua Section 27(1)(c) of IT Act are clearly distinct expressions and that they fall under different realms admits of no exception and made two qualification. All the case laws referred to supra certainly lay down this proposition very clearly. 16. To be noted, I had the occasion to pen two judgments touching upon ingredients of Section 27(1)(c) and they are judgment dated 14.06.2018 in T.C.A.No.239/2017 [Principal Commissioner of Income Tax Vs. Trisha Krishnan] and a judgment dated 30.08.2017 in T.C.A.No.440 of 2017 [Principal Commissioner of Income Tax 2, Vs. M/s.F L Smidth Limited,]. To be noted, these two judgments were penned by me, but for a Division Bench in Statutory Income Tax Appeals under Sectio ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... he High Court should not interfere in such a matter.' 21. The rare and exceptional cases where a High Court will quash SCN has also been laid down in a long line of authorities and broadly they are cases (a) where SCN can be issued without jurisdiction by the authority B) where SCN reopens a well settled position of law c) where SCN has prejudged the issue and d) where SCN has been issued with malafides. 22. It is nobody's case before this Court that impugned SCN falls under any one of the exceptions, an adumbration of which has been made supra. A perusal of template itself reveals that it is based on the well settled principle that 'concealment of income' and 'furnishing of inaccurate particulars' are distinct. Merely because there is an error of not scoring of one of the two or replacing 'or' with 'and' it cannot be gainsaid that settled legal principle of distinction between the two expressions has been disregarded. As the impugned SCN is in a template the error is secretarial in nature and petitioner's counsel says this is also owing to inadvertence. 23. To be noted, the aforesaid adumbration of exceptions are not exhaustive and it ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... medy is available to the aggrieved person and that this Rule applies with greater rigour in matters involving recovery of taxes, cess, fees, other types of public money and the dues of banks and other financial institutions. In our view, while dealing with the petitions involving challenge to the action taken for recovery of the public dues, etc., the High Court must keep in mind that the legislations enacted by Parliament and State Legislatures for recovery of such dues are a code unto themselves inasmuch as they not only contain comprehensive procedure for recovery of the dues but also envisage constitution of quasi-judicial bodies for redressal of the grievance of any aggrieved person. Therefore, in all such cases, the High Court must insist that before availing remedy under Article 226 of the Constitution, a person must exhaust the remedies available under the relevant statute. 55.It is a matter of serious concern that despite repeated pronouncement of this Court, the High Courts continue to ignore the availability of statutory remedies under the DRT Act and the SARFAESI Act and exercise jurisdiction under Article 226 for passing orders which have serious adverse impact on th ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... as to whether it has been issued on the ground that particulars have been concealed or on the ground that inaccurate particulars of income have been furnished or both. c) aforesaid addendum/corrigendum/errata to impugned SCN shall be duly served on the writ petitioner with due acknowledgement within the aforesaid three weeks period and from the date of service, writ petitioner shall be given another three weeks time to respond to the impugned SCN read with addendum/corrigendum/errata. d) It is open to the writ petitioner to ask for the basis on which the impugned SCN is predicated and the basis on which the same has been issued and the same will be dealt with in a manner known to law. e) after receipt of response from the writ petitioner and in the event of writ petitioner choosing to opt for availing the opportunity of being heard in person, i.e., personal hearing, the same shall also be granted and the impugned SCN along with addendum/corrigendum/errata shall be carried to its logical end in accordance with law after adhering to all natural justice principles. 30. This Writ Petition is disposed of with the above directions. No costs. Consequently,connected miscellaneous ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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