By K. B. Bhujle | Advocate
New Page 1
Reported:
47 Transfer of case: S. 127 of I. T. Act, 1961: Before
transfer, assessee should be given reasonable opportunity of hearing:
Reasons must be recorded and must be part of the order of
transfer:
Deep Malhotra Vs. Chief CIT; 185 Taxman 290 (P&H):
Allowing the writ petition challenging the transfer of case
u/s. 127 of the Income-tax Act, 1961, the Punjab & Haryana High Court held as
under:
“i) The legislature has provided by Section 127(2) that
before transferring any case from one
Assessing Officer, subordinate to him, to another Assessing Officer, the
assessee is required to be given reasonable opportunity of hearing and the
reasons are to be recorded for passing such an order.
ii) The provisions of section 127(2), in substance, provide
for hearing, besides requiring an agreement between the Chief Commissioner and
Commissioner of transferring the place where the cases are to be transferred.
Further, the agreements between both the Commissioners cannot be withheld from
the assessee and a copy thereof also has to be furnished to the assessee.
iii) The argument of the Revenue that the reasons had been
recorded in a separate order would not satisfy the requirement of section 127;
because the reasons have to be part of the order and recording of separate
reasons on file without communicating the same to the assessee, has been
considered as unfair and unwarranted. Therefore, the aforesaid argument was to
be rejected.
iv) For the reasons aforementioned, the impugned order was
to be set aside.”
