Khushi Doshi
Published on: March 19, 2022 at 20:25 IST
The Allahabad High Court recently declared that simply Digitally Signing the Notice, as contemplated by Section 148 of the Income Tax Act, does not Constitute the Issuance of Notice, and that the Notice must be sent/dispatched to the Income Tax Assessee via paper or Electronic Devices, and that when so sent, that day is considered the Date of Issuance of Notice.
The Bench of Justices Surya Prakash Kesarwani and Jayant Banerji ruled that Electronic Records are dispatched when they enter computer resources beyond the Originator’s Control.
In essence, the Petitioner – Daujee Abhushan Bhandar Pvt. Ltd. [regular assessee] had approached the High Court to challenge a Time-Barred Notice issued by the IT Deptartment under Section 148 of the Act, 1961 for the Assessment Year 2013-14.
The Petitioner contended that, while the Notice was digitally signed by the Assessing Authority on March 31, 2021, it was distributed to the assesses via E-mail on April 6, 2021, which the Petitioner received.
Taking into account Sections 282 and 282 A of the Act of 1961, as well as Section 13 of the Information Technology Act of 2000, and the meaning of the Term “Issue,” the Court concluded that Notice must first be signed by the Assessing Authority, and then it must be Issued in Paper Form or Communicated in Electronic form by delivering or transmitting a copy thereof to the person concerned.
Given this, and the Fact that the Impugned Notice under Section 148 of the Act of 1961 was sent to the Petitioner via E-mail on April 6, 2021, the Court determined that the Impugned Notice was Time-barred. As a result, the Challenged Notice was Null and Void.
The Petitioner claimed that the Notice was Time-barred and thus Lacked Jurisdiction because it was issued on April 6, 2021, while the time limit for Issuing Notice under Section 148 read with Section 149 of the Act of 1961 expired on March 3, 2021.
The IT Department, on the other hand, Claimed that because the Notice was digitally signed on March 3, 2021, it was Issued on Time, i.e. on March 31, 2021.
Also Read: Offences under the Information Technology Act, 2000
