Allowing the petition the Court held that the Transfer Pricing Officer could not have resumed proceedings post the passing of the directions under section 144C(5) by the Dispute Resolution Panel on June 20, 2022. The role of the Transfer Pricing Officer ended once an order as contemplated under section 92CA(4) had been passed and remitted to the Assessing Officer. Therefore, there was no occasion for the directive of the Dispute Resolution Panel to be uploaded on the Income-tax Business Application portal on June 24, 2022. It was additionally stated to have been dispatched through speed post to the Transfer Pricing Officer and the Additional/Joint/Deputy/Assistant Commissioner, National Faceless Assessment Centre on June 27, 2022. It was thereafter that the Transfer Pricing Officer had passed the order dated July 25, 2022. According to the provisions of E-Assessment Scheme, 2019, all orders, notices and decisions have to be necessarily uploaded on the portal and as part of the larger faceless assessment regime which now holds the field. The uploading of the directive of the Dispute Resolution Panel on the portal would thus constitute valid and sufficient service and the period of limitation as prescribed in section 144C(13) would be liable to be computed. Accordingly, the order of assessment could have been framed lastly by July 31, 2022. The order of assessment, dated August 24, 2022, passed under section 143(3) read with section 144C(13) and the notice of penalty, dated August 24, 2022, under section 270A read with section 274 were quashed and set aside. The Deputy Commissioner had failed to comply with the mandatory timelines stipulated in the provisions under section 144C(13) to implement the directives of the Dispute Resolution Panel under section 144C(5). Therefore, the return as submitted by the assessee would be deemed to have been accepted and the tax liability worked out accordingly. Original return of income is directed to be accepted.Order and penalty notice is set aside. (AY.2018-19)
Louis Dreyfus Company India Pvt. Ltd. v. Dy. CIT(2024) 464 ITR 595/ 338 CTR 149 (Delhi)(HC)
S. 144C : Reference to dispute resolution panel-Faceless Assessment-Limitation-Penalty-Draft assessment order-Transfer Pricing Officer has no role after directions issued by Dispute Resolution Panel-Directions binding on Assessing Officer-Order is time-barred-Original return of income is directed to be accepted-Order and penalty notice set aside. [S. 92CA(4), 143(3), 144C(5), 144C(13), 156, 270A, 274, Art. 226]