By TIOL News Service

AHMEDABAD, MAY 24, 2017: THE ISSUE BEFORE THE COURT IS - Whether an order for transfer of case can be set aside merely for want to reasons, if the case has been transferred from one officer to another Officer in the same city / station and the same is done for administrative convenience without any prejudice being caused to the assessee. NO is the verdict.

Facts of the case:

The assessee filed the return for AY 2009-10. He was served with the notice u/s 148 by which the AO sought to reopen the assessment alleging inter alia that the income chargeable to tax has escaped assessment within the meaning of section 147. Assessee asked the AO, ACIT, Circle-1( 2), Rajkot to furnish the reasons to reopen assessment. However, despite repeated the reasons were furnished. Thereafter, ACIT, Central Circle-2, Rajkot asked the assessee to file the return and audit report u/s 142(1). The assessee replied that he had not received any notice, reasons or order under Section 127 regarding transfer of his case ACIT, Circle(1), Rajkot to ACIT, Circle-2, Rajkot and therefore, the ACIT Circle-2, Rajkot had no jurisdiction. The assessee also stated that the return as originally filed may be considered as the return furnished u/s 148 and further asked for the reasons of reopening the same. The assessee was informed that his case had been transferred u/s 127. The assessee wrote to PCIT, Rajkot to supply him the copy of the transfer order. Thereafter reasons for reopening were provided. Assessee raised objections against the the same. ACIT Central Circle-2, rejected the objections raised by the petitioner. The petitioner preferred the present Special Civil Application challenging the impugned transfer order.

On appeal, the HC held that,

++ when the case is transferred from one Officer to another Officer in the same city / station, neither any opportunity is required to be given nor the same can be set aside for the want of reasons recorded in the order of transfer. It was further observed that the order of transfer of the case from one Officer to another Officer is purely in the nature of an administrative order passed for considerations of convenience of the department and no possible prejudice can be involved in such a transfer. Now, considering the impugned order it appears that even the reasons are recorded to transfer the case for "coordinated investigation". Proposal was made by DGIT (Investigation), Ahmedabad for centralization of 234 cases of the beneficiaries who have taken contrived losses through Client Code Modification at their respective places of assessment (without change of location) with one officer of Central charge of respective station. The same came to be accepted and the case of the petitioner came to be transferred to Centralized office at Rajkot i.e. respondent No.1. All the requirements which are required to be followed have been followed. The decision seems to have been taken in larger public interest and for "coordinated investigation" of similar cases at the Central Office location. Thus, it cannot be said that the impugned order of transfer suffers from any illegality more particularly when the case has been transferred from one Officer to another Officer at same station and neither any prejudice is pleaded nor any prejudice is shown to have been caused to the assessee.

(See 2017-TIOL-978-HC-AHM-IT)