Maintainable of writ against the Show Cause Notice _Notice issued u/s 271D - violation of Section 269SS - specific case of the petitioner is that the notice is vague and that already a regular Assessment order has been passed wherein, proposals were made for imposing penalty u/s 270A, 271A, 271B and 271AAC


MADRAS HIGH COURT_ 
B. SOMASUNDARAM VERSUS THE JOINT COMMISSIONER OF INCOME TAX, COIMBATORE. W.P.No. 24741 of 2023 And W.M.P.Nos. 24182 and 24183 of 2023
Dated.- August 22, 2023

Facts. 
A Regular Assessment order has been passed on 31.12.2019, wherein, proposals were made for imposing penalty under Sections 270A, 271A, 271B and 271AAC of the Income Tax Act, 1961.  FUrther , the Assessment order dated 31.12.2019 was revised by invoking provisions of Section 148 of the Income Tax Act, 1961 and another Assessment order has been passed on 20.03.2022, wherein, there is no proposal for imposing any penalty on the petitioner

HELD THAT:-
Show cause proceeding cannot be scuttled by filing a writ petition, as it is not without jurisdiction. It is open for the petitioner to reply to the Show Cause Notice and defend himself. Prima facie, it appears that the petitioner has violated provisions of Section 269SS of the Income Tax Act, 1961 and is therefore required to answer to the proposal contained the impugned Show Cause Notice dated 09.08.2023. Therefore, this writ petition is liable to be dismissed. The petitioner shall file such reply within one week from the date of receipt of a copy of this order. 

The respondent shall therefore dispose the impugned Show Cause Notice dated 09.08.2023 on merits and in accordance with law without getting influenced by any of the observations contained herein in this order within reasonable period.