Fine of Rs. 1 Lakh on Assessee for ‘Misconceived’ & ‘Mischievous’ submission in Reassessment writ petition
Madras High Court imposes a cost of Rs. 1 Lac on the Assessee for not presenting the “facts in proper colour” about receipt of Section 148A(b) show cause notice while challenging the reassessment proceedings over violation of the principles of natural justice; Observes that the Assessee sought to take advantage of a technical mistake in the order passed under Section 148A(d) with regard to email id on which SCN was served which became evident from the compilation and screenshot placed on record by the Revenue; Assessee contended that Section 148A(b) notice was served on Yahoo email ID with a direction to furnish response within 7 days whereas the correct email ID was that of Gmail; Revenue passed the order under Section 148(d) and served it on Assessee’s Gmail ID; Revenue demonstrated from the sent items of its mailbox that Section 148A(b) notice was served on Gmail ID which was also the ID furnished in the ITR for the concerned Assessment year i.e. Assessment year 2019-20; High Court rejects Assessee’s contention that no show cause notice was served to its valid ‘Gmail ID’ and observes that on perusal of the screenshot and compilation placed on record by Revenue, it is evident that show cause notice under Section 148A(b) was also served to Assessee’s valid Gmail ID and accordingly, holds the contentions of the Assessee as not just misconceived but also mischievous; Observes that in today’s time of advancement technology, it becomes incumbent on the Assessee to supply proper credentials, including email ID and mobile numbers to the Income Tax Department; Remarks that “this is not the singular instance when this court has had occasion to witness the confusion over multiple email IDs that have been furnished by an Assessee over the years”; Observes that due to multiple email IDs or failure to update correct email IDs, the principle of natural justice get violated as a proper opportunity is often denied simply because notices are sent to email IDs that are no longer in use or email IDs of staff or accountants or Chartered Accountants who had created the profile of the Assessee or filed the income tax return and are no longer in the employment or service of the Assessee; Opines that it is high time that Assessee as well as the Revenue officials devote attention on updating details on the Income Tax portal; Directs Assessee to pay Rs. 1 Lac to Cancer Institute, Adyar, Chennai by dismissing the writ petition. [In favour of revenu] (Related Assessment year : 2019-20) – Manas v. ITO – Date of Judgement : 28.04.2023 (Mad.)
The copy of the order is as under:
