WM Developers Tax Notices Set Aside by HC

Authority: High Court of Punjab and Haryana at Chandigarh

Order Date: 30 August 2024

Petitioner: WM Developers Private Limited
Respondents: Income Tax Officer and others
Counsel for Petitioner: Mr. B.M. Monga, Advocate with Rohit Kaura
Counsel for Respondents: Saurabh Kapoor, Sr. Standing Counsel (Revenue)
The petition challenged several notices issued under Section 148 of the Income Tax Act, 1961, which were sent without conducting a faceless assessment as mandated by Section 144B(7 & 8).
The Court referred to earlier judgments: Jasjit Singh vs Union of India (dated 29‑07‑2024, No.21509 of 2023) and Jatinder Singh Bhangu vs Union of India (dated 19‑07‑2024, No.15745 of 2024), emphasizing that statutory provisions cannot be overridden by circulars or instructions that are otiose or obsolete.
It was held that circulars may only supplement statutory provisions and cannot be used to usurp legal provisions, as this creates hardship and confusion for taxpayers.
Consequently, the Court found that the notices dated 28‑02‑2023, 16‑03‑2023, 20‑03‑2023, and 30‑03‑2023, together with the order dated 30‑03‑2023, were issued without jurisdiction and therefore void.

All writ petitions filed by WM Developers were allowed.
The aforementioned notices and the 30‑03‑2023 order were set aside for lack of jurisdiction.
The interim order previously passed by the Court stands merged with the present order.
All pending applications in the matter were disposed of accordingly.

Topics: Tax Assessment, Judicial Review, Income Tax Law