9911796707
TMI Blog2023 (12) TMI 413X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... 0,000/- in cash was seized by the Election Officer, Sindewahi from the vehicle owned by the petitioner. According to the said Election Officer, the Code of Conduct with regard to the elections of the Nagar Panchayat was in force and hence it was impermissible to carry cash of such value in the vehicle. A show cause notice was accordingly issued to the petitioner as to why action should not be taken for breach of the Model Code of Conduct. On intimation being given to the Income Tax Department, its authorized officer issued notice to the petitioner under Section 131 of the Income-tax Act, 1961 (for short "Act of 1961") requiring the petitioner to attend the office of the authorized officer and to produce the relevant documents in that regard ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... d not be accepted for deposit without any Court orders. It is in this backdrop that the petitioner has filed this Writ Petition praying that the amount of Rs. 30,00,000/- seized by the government agencies be returned to him with interest with a further prayer that the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) be directed to accept deposit of the said currency notes that were seized from the petitioner on 17/11/2016. This is in the backdrop of the policy of demonitisation that came into force on 8/11/2016 and exchange of SBNs was permitted only till 25/11/2016. 4] According to the Income Tax Department, the amount seized under Section 132 of the Act of 1961 ought to be treated as seizure by a Court of law in view of the provisions of sub-sections (1) and ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... h Courts in that regard. 6] In the aforesaid backdrop, we have heard the learned Counsel for the parties and we have perused the documents on record. At the outset, it would be necessary to refer to the undisputed factual position on record. An amount of Rs. 30,00,000/- was seized from the petitioner's vehicle on 17/11/2016. Taking cognizance of the intimation received, the Income Tax Authorities proceeded to issue notice under Section 131 of the Act of 1961 on 8/12/2016. After completion of the necessary formalities in that regard in which the petitioner offered the amount of Rs. 30,00,000/- as an additional income for the Financial Year 2016-17, the said amount of cash was sought to be requisitioned from the Sub-Treasury Office, Sindewah ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... Deputy General Manager, Reserve Bank of India (Annexure No. 7, page 72 of the Writ Petition). The aforesaid would thus indicate that after the cash of Rs. 30,00,000/- was seized on 17/11/2016, the Income Tax Authorities proceeded further and that amount was treated as an additional income of the petitioner. Thereafter, the petitioner was in no way concerned with the handling of that cash and the same after its seizure was under the control of the District Treasury Office, Chandrapur. 7] Insofar as the Assistant Director of Income Tax (Inv.) - II is concerned, it is its specific stand that the amount seized under Section 132 of the Act of 1961 ought to be treated as an order of seizure by a Court of law. In its affidavit-in-reply, it has ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... the SBNs, serial numbers of which have been noted by the Law Enforcement Agency. The Act of 2017 stipulates 31/12/2016 to be the "appointed day" as per Section 2(1)(a) thereof. By virtue of Section 5 of the Act of 2017, on and from the appointed day, holding of, transfer or receipt of any SBN is not permissible, knowingly or voluntarily. Proviso (d) to Section 5 has been inserted with effect from 24/8/2018 and the said prohibition of holding SBNs is not prohibited at the instance of the Law Enforcement Agencies such as the Central Board of Direct Taxes on production of the documents authorizing such seizure or confiscation as the case may be. It is thus clear that by virtue of Section 5 and proviso (d) thereof, holding, transfer or receipt ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... eclared as an additional income of the petitioner followed by payment of requisite income tax and interest. There does not appear any justifiable reason to preclude the petitioner from receiving the aforesaid amount in lieu of the seized SBNs. Much prior to the appointed day, the seizure had been effected and requisite formalities had been completed. The provisions of Chapter XIII of the Act of 1961 and especially Sections 131, 132 and 132B indicate that seizure of the SBNs in the present circumstances been undertaken by a Law Enforcement Agency referred to in the proviso to Section 5 of the Act of 2017 and hence the petitioner is entitled to return of the aforesaid amount. The interests of justice and fairplay warrant issuing of such direc ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
|
