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TMI Blog2024 (9) TMI 743X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... nder Section 148A (b), the order passed thereon under Section 148A (d) dated 7 April, 2022 and the consequent notice dated 7 April, 2022 issued under Section 148 of the Act are all issued by the Jurisdictional Assessing Officer ("JAO") and not by a Faceless Assessing Officer ("FAO"), as is required by the provisions of Section 151A of the Act. 4. To give effect to the provisions of Section 151A, the Central Government has issued a Notification dated 29 March 2022 whereby a faceless mechanism has been introduced. Thus, necessarily in resorting to a procedure under Section 148A and the consequent notice to be issued under Section 148 of the Act, the Assessing Officer is required to adhere to the provisions of Section 151A read with the Notification. Thus, for a notice to be validly issued for reassessment under Section 148 of the Act, the Respondent-Revenue would need to be compliant with Section 151A, which has been interpreted and analysed in detail by a Division Bench of this Court in the case of Hexaware Technologies Limited Vs. Assistant Commissioner of Income Tax & 4 Ors. (2024) 464 ITR 430 ("Hexaware"). The Division Bench has clearly declared the law as follows : 35. Furthe ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... s of Section 151A of the Act cannot be said to be applicable only for one aspect, i.e., proceedings post the issue of notice under Section 148 of the Act being assessment, reassessment or recomputation under Section 147 of the Act and inapplicable to the issuance of notice under Section 148 of the Act. The Scheme is clearly applicable for issuance of notice under Section 148 of the Act and accordingly, it is only the FAO which can issue the notice under Section 148 of the Act and not the JAO. The argument advanced by respondent would render clause 3 (b) of the Scheme otiose and to be ignored or contravened, as according to respondent, even though the Scheme specifically provides for issuance of notice under Section 148 of the Act in a faceless manner, no notice is required to be issued under Section 148 of the Act in a faceless manner. In such a situation, not only clause 3 (b) but also the first two lines below clause 3 (b) would be otiose, as it deals with the aspect of issuance of notice under Section 148 of the Act. Respondents, being an authority subordinate to the CBDT, cannot argue that the Scheme framed by the CBDT, and which has been laid before both House of Parliament is ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... dated 29 March, 2022. The Court, considering the relevant provisions, has held that this scheme as notified in paragraph 3 of the notification would take within its ambit steps taken by the Revenue in issuing notice under section 148A (b) as also an order passed under Section 148A (d), so as to be included within the ambit of Section 151A of the Act. In this view of the matter, on both applicability of the law as laid down by this Court in Hexaware (supra) as also considering the observations of this Court in Kairos Properties Pvt. Ltd. (supra), the petition would be required to be allowed. 8. Apart from the petitioner's contention that the proceedings would stand covered by the decision of this Court in Hexaware Technologies Limited (supra), another contention as raised by the petitioner is in regard to the impugned notice also being contrary to the decision of this Court in Siemens Financial Services Pvt. Ltd. vs. Deputy Commissioner of Income Tax, Circle 8(2)(1), Mumbai & Ors. Writ Petition No. 4888 of 2022. for the reason that the proceedings were initiated well after the expiry of three years from the end of the relevant assessment year. If this be so, the contention as urged ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... etion or compliance of an action such as completion of any proceedings or passing of any order or issuance of any notice fell between the period 20th March 2020 to 31st December 2020, the time limit for completion of such action stood extended to 31st March 2021. Thus, TOLA only seeks to extend the period of limitation and does not affect the scope of section 151. 26. The Assessing Officer cannot rely on the provisions of TOLA and the notifications issued thereunder as section 151 has been amended by Finance Act, 2021 and the provisions of the amended section would have to be complied with by the Assessing Officer, w.e.f., 1st April 2021. Hence, the Assessing Officer cannot seek to take the shelter of TOLA as a subordinate legislation cannot override any statute enacted by the Parliament. Further, the notification extending the dates from 31st March 2021 till 30th June 2021 cannot apply once the Finance Act, 2021 is in existence. The sanction of the specified authority has to be obtained in accordance with the law existing when the sanction is obtained and, therefore, the sanction is required to be obtained by applying the amended section 151 (ii) of the Act and since the sanctio ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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