The Kerala High Court ruled that there is no bar for assessing authority to issue more than one notice under Income Tax Act, 1961. Earlier, the petitioner had approached the High Court against the assessment order passed under Section 143(3) read with Sections 263 and 144B of the Income Tax Act, 1961 in order dated 25.3.2022 in respect of the assessment year 2016-17, on the ground that the petitioner was not afforded meaningful and sufficient opportunity to respond to the show cause notice

. The Court considering the submissions of the counsel for the petitioner, quashed the said assessment order with direction to the authority concerned to re-do the process in accordance with the procedure laid down by law, after permitting the petitioner to show cause in a meaningful manner. Now, the petitioner has approached this Court with this writ petition against Exts.P9 and P11 notices issued under Section 142(1) of the Income Tax Act calling upon the petitioner to give explanation with regard to other issues.

The counsel for the petitioner submitted that once the assessment order was set aside and the matter was remanded back, the assessing authority could not have demanded explanation in respect of other aspects, which may not be part of the earlier show cause notice and that since the matter was only remanded back to consider the issues, which were sought to be clarified by issuing notice under Section 142(1), a subsequent notice asking for other details is totally without jurisdiction. A Single Bench of Justice Dinesh Kumar Singh observed that “I find no substance in the submission. There is no bar for the assessing authority to issue more than one notice. This Court has directed for re-doing the process and if the authority has information and materiel regarding other unexplained income of the petitioner, the assessing authority is well within the power to ask for explanation in respect of those income and it cannot be said that the notices impugned are without jurisdiction.”