VODAFONE IDEA LIMITED Vs. CENTRAL PROCESSING CENTRE, BENGALURU

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Rule. Rule made returnable forthwith. By consent, the petition is taken up for final hearing at the admission stage.

(2.) Petitioner has called in question the failure of Respondent Nos. 1 and 2 to refund the amount paid by Petitioner for Assessment Year ("AY") 2016-2017, which Petitioner claims to have paid in excess of the legitimate tax due on the returned income of Petitioner and seeks a refund of the said amount along with applicable interest.

(3.) The case of Petitioner is quite elementary and we are constrained to observe the complete apathy and negligent approach of the assessing officer concerned in discharging his duties, in accordance with the provisions of Income Tax Act, 1961 ("the Act"). Any dereliction and remissness on the part of officers entrusted with a duty to act within the strict contours of law affects the exchequer and has far reaching consequences on the prosperity and economic stability of the nation. Laxity in this regard has a propensity to destroy and bring to naught any effective system put in place by the Government for efficient and transparent administration of taxation laws and its regulations. Such an adverse effect on the exchequer is revealed in the present case.