The Allahabad High Court today stayed a notice issued by the Income Tax department to the Greater Noida Industrial Development Authority "proposing to reassess the income for the assessment year 2011-12". A division bench, comprising Justice Tarun Agarwala and Justice Vivek Kumar Birla, stayed the notice issued on 10. 9.2015 under Section 148 of the Income Tax Act and asked the department to file its counter affidavit by January 10.
The court fixed January 21 as the next date of hearing in the matter and also asked Greater Noida Industrial Development Authority, which has challenged the notice, to file a rejoinder within a week of the filing of the counter affidavit.
Former Union Minister P Chidambaram had appeared in the court as the counsel for the petitioner. Notice has been issued for reassessment of the Authority's income for the assessment year. While the I-T notice has suggested that "the petitioner has failed to disclose fully all material facts which are necessary for making the assessment for the relevant assessment year", the Authority has contended that "all the necessary material had been disclosed while filing the return for the assessment year 2011-12".
The petitioner has also submitted before the court that it had filed its return for the aforesaid assessment year "on 13.12.2013 indicating that they are exempted from payment of any income tax".
Moreover, when the petitioner's contention (made in the return) was rejected by the department and an assessment order passed under Section 143 (3) of the Income Tax Act on 29.3. 2014, the Authority "carried the matter to the Tribunal, which was allowed."
The Tribunal's order was challenged by the department by way of an appeal filed before the High Court but the same was rejected on August 4 this year.
The court noted that besides the aforementioned points, "another question which arises for consideration is whether the notice issued under Section 148 of the Act is justifiable after the assessment order under Section 143(3) is quashed".
Fixing January 21 as the date for "final disposal", the court ordered "reassessment proceeding under Section 148 of the Act, for the assessment year 2011-12, shall remain stayed".
