In a significant ruling Ashok Kumar Batwani v. CIT, the division bench of the Rajasthan High Court held that notice under section 158BC of Income Tax Act requiring the assessee to file return ‘within 15 days’ is illegal when the provision clearly provides for 15 days time under the provision.
Quashing the notice, the bench comprising Justice K.S. Jhaveri and Justice Vinit Kumar Mathur clarified that under the said provision, the assessing officer should have grant time ‘not less than 15 days’ to the assessee.
The bench was hearing an appeal through which the appellant-assessee impugned the validity of the notice issued under Section 158BC of the Income Tax Act of 1961 by the assessing officer to file the return ‘within 15 days’. The assessee contended that the notice violatesthe provisions of Section 158BC which requires to issue a notice providing time of ‘not being less than 15 days’ which implies clear 15 days and hence is liable to be quashed in the light of the same Court’s decision in Surya Dev Kumawat vs. CIT and the Gujarat High Court decision in Commissioner of Income Tax vs. Amit K. Jain.
The bench noticed that in the above cases, the Courts clearly stated that it is mandatory to grant 15 days time in terms of section 158BC of the income Tax Act. Accordingly, the appeal was allowed.
Read the full text of the Judgment below.
