Delhi HC: [Income Tax Act] Section 292B Can’t Shield Tax Orders with Apparent Errors

The Delhi High Court stated that Section 292B of the Income Tax Act, 1961, cannot be used to validate an assessment order that overlooks errors apparent on the face of the record.

It was furnished via the provisions that no notice or assessment or any proceedings could be considered to be not valid only for the reason of any mistake, defect or omission in these notices, assessment or other proceedings.

Read Also: Delhi HC: Income Tax Assessment Order in the Name of a Non-Existent Entity Cannot Be Rectified U/S 292B

It was mentioned by the division bench of Chief Justice Devender Kumar Upadhyay and Justice Tushar Rao Gedela that the provision shall save reassessment notice which accidentally served to the taxpayer information relating to some other individual instead of his own, however, the following reassessment order passed by ignoring such mistake cannot be condoned.

It was contested by the taxpayer that the notice issued to him under section 148 of the Act asking to show cause why reassessment proceedings should not be initiated in association with an unexplained cash deposit of Rs.22,44,647.

The specific notice includes the information of transactions entered via some other taxpayer (Manisha Jain) who has a distinct PAN and has no connection with the applicant. Regardless, a reassessment order arrived to be passed via the department, rejecting the taxpayer’s objection.

The department also asserted that as the proceedings were initiated based on the data collected u/s 135A of the Act, it is authorised to overlook the method specified under the provisions of section 148A of the Act and as such, furnishing documents to the taxpayer is not a compulsory requirement.

The HC at the outset noted that providing the data of some other taxpayer was accidental.

“The said aspect appears to be an error or mistake and neither deliberate nor wilful. On account of such error/mistake or inadvertence, no fatality can be said to attach to the issuance of the impugned notice under section 148 of the Act,” it stated.

While, “the passing of the impugned order dated 03.02.2025 is absolutely unsustainable in overlooking the error apparent on the face of the record. It can be safely presumed that the authority did not apply its mind to the objections raised by the petitioner.”

It was mentioned by the court that section 292B is couched in a negative language and saves any invalidity to the income return assessment, notice, summons or other proceedings only via the reasons of any mistake, defect or omission, it mentioned.

“We are of the opinion that this provision would enure to the benefit of the respondents only to the extent of excluding the error of furnishing information relating to some other individual annexed to the impugned notice under section 148 of the Act while saving the notice itself. This however, shall not save the impugned order dated 03.02.2025.”

Therefore, the court quashed the impugned order, and authorised the department to rectify the impugned notice.

Read Also:- Delhi HC: Penalty for TDS Violations and SCN Issues from Previous Name Company Can Be Rectified u/s 292-B

Appearance: For the Petitioner : Mr. Piyush Kaushik, Advocate. For the Respondents : Mr. Abhishek Maratha, SSC with Mr. Apoorv Agarwal (JSC), Mr. Parth Samwal (JSC), Ms. Nupur Sharma, Mr. Gaurav Singh, Mr. Bhanukaran Singh Jodha and Ms. Muskaan Goel, Advocates for the Revenue.