Assessee is required to update the Address in the PAN Database

Principal Commissioner of Income Tax, Mumbai vs. M/s I-Ven Interactive Limited, Mumbai -CIVIL APPEAL NO.8132 OF 2019 – (Arising out of SLP(C) No.3530/2019) – OCTOBER 18, 2019.

The Supreme Court comprising of Justice Uday Umesh Lalit, Justie Indira Banerjee, Justice M.R. Shah held that the assessee should change the assessee is required to approach the Department and is required to make an application for change of address in the departmental database of PAN. The Supreme Court while Setting aside the impugned judgment and order passed by the High Court dismissing the appeal and thereby confirming the orders passed by the learned C.I.T (Appeals) and I.T.A.T holding that the assessment order was bad in law held as:

‘Merely by filing of return of income with the new address, it shall be enough for the assessee to discharge its legal responsibility for observing proper procedural steps as per the Companies Act and the Income Tax Act is concerned, we are of the opinion that mere mentioning of the new address in the return of income without specifically intimating the Assessing Officer with respect to change of address and without getting the PAN database changed, is not enough and sufficient.’

In the instant matter the assessee had failed to update the new address in the PAN Database. The Assessing officer a notice under Section 143(2) of the 1961 Act was issued to the respondent-assessee as per the PAN database. Thereafter, further notices under Section 142(1) were issued to the assessee along with questionnaires calling for various details and were duly served on the respondent­assessee company. In response to the said notice, the representative of the company appeared before the assessing officer. The assessee participated in the proceedings before the Assessing Officer. However, the assessee challenged the notice under Sections 143(2) and 142(1) of the 1961 Act on the ground that the said notices were not served upon the assessee as the assessee­company never received those notices and the subsequent notices served and received by the assessee­company were beyond the period of limitation prescribed under proviso to Section 143 of the 1961 Act.

The Supreme Court Observed: “No application was made by the assessee to change the address in the PAN data base and in the PAN database the old address continued. Therefore, in absence of any intimation to the Assessing Officer with respect to change in address, the Assessing Officer was justified in issuing the notice at the address available as per the PAN database” The Supreme Court further stated that, in absence of any intimation to the Assessing Officer with respect to change in address, the Assessing Officer was justified in issuing the notice at the address available as per the PAN database. Therefore, the Assessing Officer cannot be said to have committed any error and in fact the Assessing Officer was justified in sending the notice at the address as per the PAN database. download full judgment here: PCIT-Mumbai-v.-M-s-I-Ven-Interactive-Limited-MumbaiDownload

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