- 1 - HC-KAR NC: 2025:KHC:48562 WP No. 21073 of 2025 IN THE HIGH COURT OF KARNATAKA AT BENGALURU DATED THIS THE 24TH DAY OF NOVEMBER, 2025 BEFORE THE HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE S.R.KRISHNA KUMAR WRIT PETITION NO. 21073 OF 2025 (T-IT) BETWEEN: PODDAR NIKET DEVELOPERS LLP (FORMERLY PODDAR NIKET DEVELOPERS LIMITED) 26/1 SUA HOUSE, KASTURBA CROSS ROAD, BANGALORE - 560 001, KARNATAKA (REGISTERED PURSUANT TO SECTION 58(1) OF THE LLP ACT 2008, REPRESENTED HEREIN BY ITS AUTHORIZED SIGNATORY MR. S.R. KALYANAM, PARTNERS. &PETITIONER (BY SRI. TANMAYEE RAJKUMAR, ADVOCATE) AND: 1. ADDITIONAL/JOINT/DEPUTY/ASSISTANT COMMISSIONER OF INCOME TAX/INCOME TAX OFFICE NATIONAL FACELESS ASSESSMENT CENTRE, 2ND FLOOR, E-RAMP, JAWAHARLAL NEHRU STADIUM, NEW DELHI - 110 003. 2. INCOME TAX OFFICER, WARD 1(2)(1), BMTC BUILDING, 80 FEET ROAD, 6TH BLOCK, KORAMANGALA, BANGALORE - 560 095. 3. ADDL./JT. COMMISSIONER OF INCOME-TAX, Digitally signed by SHARADAVANI B Location: High Court of Karnataka - 2 - HC-KAR NC: 2025:KHC:48562 WP No. 21073 of 2025 RANGE-1, BANGALORE, BMTC BUILDING, 80 FEET ROAD, 6TH BLOCK, KORAMANGALA, BANGALORE - 560 095 &RESPONDENTS (BY SRI. M. DILIP, ADVOCATE FOR R1 TO R3) THIS WP IS FILED UNDER ARTICLE 226 OF THE CONSTITUTION OF INDIA PRAYING TO-(A) QUASHING THE ASSESSMENT ORDER DATED 28.03.2022 BEARING NO. ITBA/AST/S/147/2021-22/1041851586(1) (ANNEXURE -J) PASSED BY THE 1ST RESPONDENT UNDER SECTION 147 READ WITH SECTIONS 144 AND 144B OF THE ACT FOR THE ASSESSMENT YEAR 2017-18 AND ETC., THIS PETITION, COMING ON FOR ORDERS, THIS DAY, ORDER WAS MADE THEREIN AS UNDER: CORAM: HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE S.R.KRISHNA KUMAR ORAL ORDER In this petition, the petitioner has sought for the following reliefs: Issue a writ, order or direction: (a) Quashing the assessment order dated 28.03.20222 bearing No.ITBA/AST/S/147/2021-22/1041851586(1) (Annexure-J) passed by the 1st respondent under - 3 - HC-KAR NC: 2025:KHC:48562 WP No. 21073 of 2025 Section 147 read with Sections 144 and 144B of the Act for the assessment year 2017-18. (b) Quashing the notice dated 30.03.2021 issued by the 2nd respondent bearing No.ITBA/AST/S/148/2020- 21/1031932440 (1) (Annexure-H) under Section 148 of the Act for the assessment year 2017-18; (c) Quashing the order dated 16.08.2022 passed by the 1st respondent bearing No.ITBA/PNL/F/271F of the Act (Annexure-L) for the assessment year 2017-18; (d) Quashing the demand notice dated 16.08.2022 issued by the 1st respondent bearing No.ITBA/PNL/S/156/2022-23/1044660076(1) under Section 156 of the Act (Annexure-M) pursuant to the order passed under Section 271F of the Act for the assessment year 2017-18. (e) Quashing the order dated 22.08.2022 passed by the 1st respondent bearing No.ITBA/PNL/F/271AAC(1)/2022-23/1044845884(1) under Section 271AAC of the Act (Annexure - N), for the assessment year 2017-18; (f) Quashing the demand notice dated 22.08.2022 issued by the 1st respondent bearing No.ITBA/PNL/S/156/2022-23/1044845988(1) under Section 156 of the Act (Annexure-P), pursuant to the - 4 - HC-KAR NC: 2025:KHC:48562 WP No. 21073 of 2025 order passed under Section 271AAC of the Act for the assessment year 2017-18; (g) Quashing the order dated 06.09.2022 passed by the 1st respondent bearing No.ITBA/PNL/F/270A/2022- 23/1045243558(1) under Section 270A of the Act (Annexure-Q), for the assessment year 2017-18; (h) Quashing the notice dated 06.09.2022 issued by the 1st respondent bearing No.ITBA/PNL/F/156/2022- 23/1045245294(1) under Section 156 of the Act (Annexure-R), pursuant to the order passed under Section 270A of the Act for the assessment year 2017-18; and (i) Pass such other or further orders as this Hon'ble court may deem fit in the facts and circumstances of the case, in the interest of justice and equity. 2. Heard learned counsel for the parties and perused the material on record. 3. A perusal of the material on record in will indicate that in relation to the assessment year 2016-17 in respect of the petitioner i.e., Poddar Niket Developers LLP (formerly Poddar Niket Developers Limited), this court set aside the order impugned therein passed under Section 148(a)(d) of the Income Tax Act, - 5 - HC-KAR NC: 2025:KHC:48562 WP No. 21073 of 2025 1961 dated 28.02.2023 and remitted the matter back to the assessing officer for re-consideration afresh, in accordance with law by holding as under: "The petitioner has impugned the first respondent9s order dated 28.02.2023 [Annexure-F] under Section 148A(d) of the Income Tax Act, 1961 [for short, 8the IT Act9] and the notice dated 06.03.2023 issued under Section 148 of the Act [Annexure-G]. These proceedings relate to the assessment year 2016- 17. The petitioner has impugned these proceedings essentially on the ground that the response filed upon service of notice under Section 148A(b) of the IT Act has not been considered. Smt. Tanmayee Rajkumar, the learned counsel for the petitioner, and Sri M. Dilip, the learned standing counsel for the respondents, who is called upon to accept notice, are heard for final disposal in the light of this contention. 2. The first respondent in the impugned adjudication order dated 28.02.2023 has considered the petitioner9s response thus: <In response to notice, the assessee furnished its reply on 31/01/2023. The assessee has stated that M/s. Poddar Niket Developers Limited is converted in LLP w.e.f. 26th August 2016. Further, the return of income is filed in the case of - 6 - HC-KAR NC: 2025:KHC:48562 WP No. 21073 of 2025 M/s. Poddar Niket Developers Limited declaring an income of Rs.1,64,24,370/-. The reply of the assessee has been gone through, however, the same is not acceptable for the reason that the assessee is non-filer (re- verified from e-filer portal).= 3. However, the petitioner9s case is that it is initially allotted AAGFP6283N as its Permanent Number [PAN], but later the National Securities Depository Limited [NSDL] on its own volition, because of the obvious error in issuing this PAN to the petitioner as a firm, has issued another PAN in AAECP3825B. The petitioner also states that, the petitioner, upon allotment of this PAN [AAECP3825B], has been filing ITR for the assessment years from 2005-06 to 2016-17; that the petitioner is incorporated as a Limited Liability Partnership Firm with effect from 26.08.2016 and is allotted new PAN in AATFP0654N and for the assessment years thereafter viz., the assessment year 2017-18 the petitioner has been filing ITR with this new PAN. 4. The present proceedings, which are for the assessment year 2016-17, are initiated on the ground that the ITR have not been filed and this is with - 7 - HC-KAR NC: 2025:KHC:48562 WP No. 21073 of 2025 reference to the original PAN [AAGFP6283N], but the petitioner has filed ITR declaring certain income and such ITR is also processed vide intimation dated 22.03.2018. It cannot be disputed that the petitioner has filed detailed reply to the notice under Section 148A(d) of the IT Act setting forth the material circumstances, and the first respondent should have considered continuation of the proceedings in the light of such reply and the failure renders the impugned adjudication order untenable in law. Hence, there is interference and the following: ORDER The petition is allowed, and the impugned order dated 28.02.2023 [Annexure-F] and notice dated 06.03.2023 [Annexure-G] are quashed restoring the proceedings to the stage under Section 148A[b] of the IT Act." 4. It is submitted by the learned counsel for the petitioner that while passing the aforesaid order, this court took into account that the assessment order was in relation to an erroneous PAN No.AAGFP6283M erroneously allotted to the earlier company i.e., Poddar Niket Developers Limited, which was subsequently rectified as the correct Pan No.AAECP3825B in favour of the said company - 8 - HC-KAR NC: 2025:KHC:48562 WP No. 21073 of 2025 and directed re-consideration of the matter afresh in accordance with law. It is pointed out that subsequent to the aforesaid order passed by this court, the respondent - assessing officer proceeded to pass an order under Section 148(d) dated 21.03.2024 accepting the claim of the petitioner. 5. Learned counsel for the petitioner would submit that insofar as the subsequent assessment years i.e., 2017-18, the respondent proceeded to issue a notice under Section 148 of the Act, dated 30.03.2021 in the name of the old / erroneous Pan i.e., Pan No.AAGFP6283M in respect of the aforesaid Poddar Niket Developers Limited and the petitioner having not submitted a reply to the same, the respondent passed the impugned assessment order, which deserves to be set aside. In the light of finding recorded by this court as well as the assessing officer himself that the earlier / old Pan No.AAGFP6283M was an erroneous Pan Number which was substituted subsequently by the correct Pan i.e., Pan No. AAECP3825B. - 9 - HC-KAR NC: 2025:KHC:48562 WP No. 21073 of 2025 6. Per contra, learned High Court Government Pleader submits that there is no merit in the petition and the same is liable to be dismissed. 7. Though several contentions have been urged by the petitioner in support of his claim in relation to the earlier pan i.e., Pan No.AAGFP6283M being erroneous and the same having been subsequently changed to Pan No. AAECP3825B. Having regard to the fact that the impugned assessment order is an exparte assessment order, I deem it just and appropriate the same and remit the matter back to the stage of petitioner submitting reply to Section 148 notice. 8. In the result, pass the following: ORDER (ii) The petition is hereby allowed. (iii) Impugned notices / orders at Annexures J, L, M, N, P, Q and R are hereby set aside. (iv) Matter is remitted back to respondent No.2 for reconsideration afresh in accordance with law from the stage of submitting of reply to - 10 - HC-KAR NC: 2025:KHC:48562 WP No. 21073 of 2025 the Show Cause Notice under Section 154 of the IT Act dated 30.03.2021 (v) Liberty is reserved in favour of the petitioner to submit additional pleadings, documents, etc., to the respondent, who shall consider the same and proceed further in accordance with law. Sd/- (S.R.KRISHNA KUMAR) JUDGE SS List No.: 2 Sl No.: 48 CT: BHK