Authority: High Court of Karnataka at Bengaluru (Justice B M Shyam Prasad)
Order Date: 15 July 2026
Case Overview
- Petition filed by Central Arecanut and Cocoa Marketing and Processing Co-operative Limited, represented by General Manager Reshma Mallya, against the Assistant Commissioner of Income Tax (Central Circle‑2, Mangalore), Director General of Income Tax (Investigation), Union of India (Secretary, Ministry of Finance, Department of Revenue) and Central Board of Direct Taxes (Secretary, Ministry of Finance).
- The petitioner challenged a Show Cause Notice dated 19 May 2022 issued under Section 148A(b) of the Income Tax Act, 1961, an Order dated 28 July 2022 under Section 148A(d), and a further Notice dated 28 July 2022 under Section 148, all relating to Assessment Year 2015‑16 (DIN R1).
- The central question was whether a notice under Section 148 for AY 2015‑16 could be issued after 1 April 2021 in view of the Supreme Court’s concession in Union of India & Others v. Rajeev Bansal (2024 SCC Online SC 2693).
- The Court referred to a Division Bench judgment in Income Tax Officer, Ward‑6 & Others v. Venkatala Iyappa Rajanna (2025 SCC OnLine Kar 25214), which applied the Supreme Court’s concession and held that reassessment proceedings for AY 2015‑16 initiated after 1 April 2021 must be dropped.
Final Outcome
- The writ petition was allowed.
- The Show Cause Notice (Annexure‑A1), the Order (Annexure‑A2) and the second Notice (Annexure‑A3) were quashed, subject to the observations made by the Court.
Topics: Income Tax, Legal Precedent