ELITE PHARMACEUTICALS AND ORS. Vs. INCOME TAX OFFICER

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The petitioners question the propriety of a letter dated August 17, 2015 issued by the Income Tax Officer, Ward -46(1), Kolkata on the ground that despite a specific challenge to the authority of such ITO to issue notices under Sec. 148 of the Income Tax Act, 1961 to the petitioning assessee, the aspect of the erroneous assumption of jurisdiction has not been dealt with in the letter.

(2.) There is no dispute that the petitioning assessee accepted the ITO, Ward -46(1), Kolkata to be the appropriate assessing officer prior to the issuance of a Central Board of Direct Taxes notification of October 22, 2014. According to the petitioners, by virtue of the said notification of October 22, 2014, with came into effect from November 15, 2014, the jurisdiction over the petitioning assessee ought to have been exercised by ITO Ward -22(2), Kolkata as the assessing officer.

(3.) Upon receipt of the notices under Sec. 148 of the Act dated March 27, 2015 from the ITO Ward -46(1), the petitioning assessee sought to question the authority of such assessing officer by letters of April 29, 2015 delivered to the department on May 1, 2015. The department has produced documents to demonstrate that the notices under Sec. 148 of the Act dated March 27, 2015 were received by the petitioning assessee on the same day of March 27, 2015. The petitioners have produced copies of the relevant notices of March 27, 2015 from a previous petition filed in this Court. Each of the notices under Sec. 148 of the Act pertaining to assessment years 2012 -13, 2013 -14 and 2014 -15 required the assessee to deliver to the assessing officer "within 30 days from the date of service of this notice" a return in the prescribed form of the assessee's income. The notices also indicated that they were issued after obtaining the necessary satisfaction of the Commissioner of Income Tax, Kolkata -16, Central Board of Direct Taxes.