SUN INVESTMENT PVT LTD Vs. CIT

JUDGEMENT

(1.) W.P.(C) 12438/2009 M/s Sun Investment Pvt. Ltd. has filed the present writ petition seeking issue of a writ of mandamus or any other writ or order or direction in the nature of mandamus to the respondents to withdraw, cancel or resend the notice issued by them under Section 148 of the Income Tax Act, 1961 (hereinafter referred to as 'Act'), in respect of the assessment year 2003-04. The petitioner has also prayed for issue of a writ of certiorari for quashing the aforesaid notice and for the issue of a writ of prohibition to forbear the respondents from giving effect to the notice and from doing anything in furtherance of the purported notice.

(2.) The relevant facts giving rise to the present writ petition may be noticed. The petitioner is an investment company registered with the Reserve Bank of India as a non-banking finance company. It deals in shares and securities and also makes investments. On 11.11.2003 it filed a return of income for the assessment year 2003-04 declaring Rs.Nil as its total income computed under the provisions of the Act. The return was accompanied by the computation of the income, the report of the chartered accountants in Form No.29-B and the annexures thereto as well as the annual financial accounts. The schedules forming part of the balance sheet as on 31.3.2003 were also filed along with the annual accounts. It is relevant to mention that Note 3 of the Schedule H read as follows :

(3.) On 19.5.2008, the second respondent issued a notice under Section 148 of the Act reopening the assessment for the assessment year 2003-04 on the ground that he had reason to believe that the petitioner's income had escaped assessment and called upon the petitioner to file the return of income in response to the notice. Accordingly the noticee, the petitioner filed a return of income declaring income as originally returned in the return filed on 11.11.2003 and also requested the first respondent to furnish the reasons recorded for reopening the assessment. The Assessing Officer, by letter dated 17.7.2009, informed the petitioner of the reasons for reopening the assessment and they are reproduced below :