Section 148 controversy settled in favour of the Revenue
The hearing on validity of notices issued u/s 148 after 01.04.2021 without following the procedure of section 148A closed earlier was reserved for order. The courtroom discussion was already there that the issue would be settled in favour of the Revenue. It was duly covered by the www.thetaxtalk.com on April, 20, 2022 at the following link: – https://thetaxtalk.com/2022/04/20/decided-in-favour-of-the-revenue/
Now, the division bench of the Supreme Court of Justice M.R.Shah & Justice B.V. Nagarathna has delivered the landmark verdict wherein divergent views have been given earlier by the High Courts.
It may be recalled that the Revenue has moved the Apex court by filing SLP. As against the normal expectation, Section 148 controversy has been finally settled. With this, order of all the High courts are undone. Earlier section 148 notice shall be treated as notice under 148A notice and compliance as per Section 148A.
The present pronouncement is now expected to create another round of chaos and litigation. There will be many cases where the proceeding has almost become time barred. The courts will now again be flooded with the new set of writ petitions.
The copy of the Supreme court’s order is as under:
