By TIOL News Service

CHENNAI, NOV 21, 2016: THE ISSUE IS - Whether it is open to the assessee to agitate a show cause notice before the High Court, if he can directly approach the ITO who had issued the said SCN. NO IS THE VERDICT.

Facts of the case:

The assessee has filed the present petition challenging the Show Cause Notice issued by the ITO, calling upon the assessee to appear before him and show cause as to why the assessee's case should not be referred to the Principal CIT, for initiation of prosecution/proceedings u/s 276-C(1) on the alleged ground that assessee had willfully attempted to evade tax, interest chargeable, and penalty imposable under the Act.

On appeal, the High Court held:

++ it is seen that the impugned proceedings, being only a Show Cause Notice, cannot be interdicted at this stage, and whatever points, the assessee wants to raise, can very well raised before the ITO, by responding to the Show Cause Notice. Therefore, the prayer sought for in this Writ Petition to quash the impugned Show Cause Notice is rejected and the assessee is directed to appear before the ITO and submit their reply to the Show Cause Notice.

(See 2016-TIOL-2815-HC-MAD-IT)