Karti company’s plea on I-T notification rejected

The Enforcement Directorate conducted search operations on the office premises of the petitioner company and its director M Ramesh and the residences of its directors under Sec. 137 of the FEMA on December 1, 2015. Simultaneously, the I-T department conducted a survey on the office premises of the petitioner and the residences of its directors.

While the matters were at that stage, the impugned notification has been passed by the Principal Commissioner of Income Tax -1, transferring the petitioner’s cases to a different officer, who is within the city.

Nalini Chidambaram, the senior counsel for the petitioner, contended that the notification suffered from errors apparent, as it had been issued under Section 127(2) of the Act, without giving the petitioner, reasonable opportunity of being heard.

Dismissing the petition, Justice TS Sivagnanam said, “This court has found that there has been an agreement between the two Heads of department and the petitioner cannot plead for an opportunity to be granted before an order of transfer, as there is no such statutory requirement under the Act. Rather, the said procedure has been specifically excluded.”