Navjot Sidhu moves High Court seeking relief in Income Tax case

LE Correspondent

Chandigarh, July 14, 2021: Cricketer-turned-politician Navjot Singh Sidhu has approached the Punjab and Haryana High Court seeking quashing of the order of the Joint Commissioner Income Tax, Amritsar, wherein the revision filed by him, concerning the assessment of his income, has been dismissed.

The High Court will hear the matter on July 27.

In his petition, Sidhu said that he filed his income tax return for the assessment year 2016-17 on October 19, 2016, declaring a total income of Rs 9.66 crore.

However, assessment under section 143 (3) of Income Tax Act, 1961 was completed by the assessment officer on December 21, 2018 at the assessed income of Rs 13.19 crore after making addition of Rs 3.53 crore and the said order was served upon him on March 31, 2019.

Sidhu said he filed a revision petition before Joint Commissioner Income Tax, Amritsar, against the above “erroneous” assessment.

“During the course of revision, rather than divulging in the merits of the revision with regard to erroneous disallowance the entire focus of the Joint Commissioner was to seek explanation on the reasons and circumstances behind preference for revision in place of appeal before the Commissioner Income Tax (appeal),” contended Sidhu in his plea.

He alleged that the Joint Commissioner showed complete disregard to the statuary provisions and legal pronouncements and in a complete arbitrary manner dismissed the revision filed by him on March 27, 2021.

Sidhu claimed that the impugned order dated March 27, 2021, was erroneously passed wherein his revision petition has been dismissed on totally flimsy and untenable grounds. Being patently illegal, arbitrary and in complete disregard to principles of natural justice, the order is liable to be set aside, he prayed.