ADITYA KHANNA Vs. ASST COMMISSIONER OF INCOME TAX

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THIS writ petition under Section 226 of the Constitution has been filed by Aditya Khanna, who is a non-resident individual. The petitioner seeks the issue of a writ of certiorari or any other order/writ /direction to quash the notice issued by the respondent, who is the Assistant Commissioner of Income Tax Central Circle-V, New Delhi, under Section 148 of the Income Tax Act (hereinafter referred to as ,,the Act) on 17.2.2009. A prayer is also made for quashing the letter/order dated 20.11.2009 issued by the respondent rejecting the objections filed by the petitioner to the notice.

(2.) THE following are the brief facts which have given rise to the present petition. For the assessment years 2002-03 the petitioner filed a return of income in the status of a non-resident and declared property income and interest income therein. It would appear that the return was accepted under Section 143(1) of the Act. On 17 th February, 2009 the respondent issued a notice under Section 148, which is the impugned notice, calling upon the petitioner to deliver a return of income for the assessment year 2002-03 on the ground that income chargeable to tax had escaped assessment. In response to the notice the petitioner sent a reply pointing out that he is a non-resident and had no income chargeable to tax in India other than what was declared in the return filed earlier. THE petitioner also requested the respondent to supply a copy of the reasons required to be recorded under Section 148(2) for reopening the assessment. THE respondent complied with the request of the petitioner and by a letter dated 10th August, 2009, furnished the copy of the reasons recorded for reopening the assessment. On receipt of the reasons, the petitioner wrote a letter on 24th August, 2009 to the respondent stating therein that he was a non-resident and this status has been accepted in the assessment made for the assessment years 2000-01, 2005-06 and 2006-07 and that any income earned by him outside India was being taxed there and that in these circumstances there was no question of any income chargeable to tax escaping assessment for the assessment years 2002-03. A request was, therefore made that the proceedings under Section 148 may be dropped.

(3.) THE present writ petition has been filed challenging the assumption of jurisdiction to reopen the assessment under Section 147/148 of the Act and for quashing the notice issued under Section 148 and the letter/order of the respondent rejecting the objections filed by the petitioner.