PANDALAPAKA PRIMARY AGRICULTURAL COOPERATIVE CREDIT SOCIETY LIMITED vs. THE INCOME TAX OFFICER

APHC010282872025

IN THE HIGH COURT OF ANDHRA PRADESH AT AMARAVATI (Special Original Jurisdiction) [3529] TUESDAY, THE TWENTY SEVENTH DAY OF JANUARY TWO THOUSAND AND TWENTY SIX PRESENT THE HONOURABLE SRI JUSTICE R RAGHUNANDAN RAO THE HONOURABLE SRI JUSTICE T.C.D.SEKHAR INCOME TAX TRIBUNAL APPEAL NO: 30/2025 Between: 1. PANDALAPAKA PRIMARY AGRICULTURAL COOPERATIVE CREDIT SOCIETY LIMITED, REP. BY ITS CEO, BHAVVARAPU SRINIVASA NAGENDRA PRASAD R/O 5-28/1, PANDALAPAKA BICCAVOLE MANDAL-533345, ANDHRA PRADESH

...APPELLANT AND 1. THE INCOME TAX OFFICER, Ward -1, Kakinada, 3rd Floor, Sri Deepthi Towers, Main Road, Kakinada East Godavari District, Andhra Pradesh.

...RESPONDENT Appeal under section _______ against orders pleased to Call for the records relating to IT.A. No. 437A/IZ/2024 (Assessment Year 2018-19), dated 28.01.2025 (served on 27.03.2025), on the file of Hon'ble Income Tax Appellate Tribunal, Visakapatnam Division Bench, Visakapatnam, and set aside the same to the aforesaid extent. IA NO: 1 OF 2025 Petition under Section 151 CPC praying that in the circumstances stated in the affidavit filed in support of the petition, the High Court may be pleased to Suspend the operation of order passed by Hon'ble Income Tax Appellate Tribunal, Visakapatnam Division Bench, Visakapatnam in I.T.A.No.:437A/IZ/2024 (Assessment Year 2018-19), dated 28.01.2025, and

subsequently direct the respondent not to take any coercive action pursuant to notice vide DIN: ITBA/PNL/F/17/2025-26/1076777022(1), Dt: 06-06-2025, pending disposal of the above appeal; and pass Counsel for the Appellant: 1. T V P SAI VIHARI Counsel for the Respondent: 1. ANUP KOUSHIK KARAVADI The Court made the following Order: (per Hon’ble Sri Justice R.Raghunandan Rao)

The petitioner had suffered the order of assessment dated 16.06.2025 for the assessment year 2018 - 19 and 2020 - 21. It may be noted that this assessment was initiated by way of notice under Section 148 as well as 148(A)(b) of Income Tax Act, 1961, issued by Jurisdictional Assessing Officer. Aggrieved by the said order of assessment, the appellant had filed an appeal which also came to be dismissed on 26.07.2024. Aggrieved by the said order, the appellant approached Income Tax Appellate Tribunal, by way of I.T.A.Nos.437 and 438. I.T.A.No.437 came to be dismissed and I.T.A.No.438 came to be allowed by an order dated 28.01.2025. 2. Aggrieved by these orders, the appellant approached this Court by way of present appeal. One of the issues raised by the appellant is the ground that the orders of assessment had been initiated and complete by the Jurisdictional Assessing Authority and the same is clearly prohibited under Section 151A of Income Tax Act, 1961. 3. In these circumstances, the question of law that would arise in the present case is whether the order of assessment and subsequent orders in

appeal are valid inasmuch as the original order of assessment itself is barred by section 151A of Income Tax Act. 4. The Division Bench of this Court in Writ Petition Nos.14681 of 2023 and batch had held that by virtue of Section 151A of Income Tax Act, no Jurisdictional Officer would be entitled to initiate assessment proceedings or other proceedings under Section 148 or 148A and the same can only be initiated under faceless assessment scheme. 5. In that view of the matter, the order of assessment dated 30.03.2022 would have to be held to be invalid. Once the said order of assessment is invalid, the orders in appeal also would have to be setaside. 6. Accordingly, this appeal is allowed, setting aside the orders of assessment dated 30.03.2022, the orders in appeal dated 26.07.2024 and the orders of the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal dated 28.01.2025. Any amount deposited during the pendency of the appeal had to be refunded.

________________________ R. RAGHUNANDAN RAO, J

________________ T.C.D.SEKHAR,J

Date: 27.01.2026 M K K

159 THE HONOURABLE SRI JUSTICE R RAGHUNANDAN RAO THE HONOURABLE SRI JUSTICE T.C.D.SEKHAR

I.T.T.A No:30 of 2025

(per Hon’ble Sri Justice R Raghunandan Rao)

27.01.2026

M K K