The IT department has been served with notices by the Supreme Court in connection with a committee that helps the court close residential premises used for business. Besides, the court has called the official behind such notices to explain those notices to the court. This direction was passed while disposing of a petition filed by the National Campaign for People’s Right to Information, which was heard by a two bench comprising of Justice AS Oka and Pankaj Mithal.
The committee told the court that, unlike most other entities, it operates on no funds of its own, and the fees for permanently de-sealing the properties are paid directly to the Supreme Court registry. The bench stated that action must be taken against the relevant income tax officer on account of the issuance of the notices. The senior advocate Guru Krishna Kumar, who appeared before the court as amicus curiae and helped the court, said that the committee has a balance of ₹ 48063/- and out of the amount ₹ 3.5 crore, the same was moved to the registry.
The Supreme Court, in an earlier directive dated August 22, while setting up the said seven-member committee, mandated the committee to pay quarterly deposits to the court the processing fee as of September 1st. But Kumar’s recalcitrant brought the court’s attention to the fact that the committee had already received three letters of notice from the Income Tax Department while the management had explained to the committee that it was not responsible for taxes. The committee argued that some of the funds in its possession are not income because the money goes to the court, where it is placed in a fixed deposit account.
The committee contended that the notices issued under Section 133(6) of the Income Tax Act could not be applied to its case, as it covers interest earned on saving accounts.
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