Letter Advising Assessee to Make Voluntary Payment Towards Alleged Tax Liability is Impermissible and to be Quashed | HC

Case Details: Shree Kunj Bihari Infracon (P.) Ltd v. State of U.P. - [2024] 167 taxmann.com 683 (Allahabad)

Judiciary and Counsel Details

• Shekhar B. Saraf & Manjive Shukla, JJ.
• Suyash Agarwal, Sr Adv. for the Petitioner.
• Anjali Upadhya & Parv Agarwal for the Respondent.

Facts of the Case

In the present case, the Department issued a letter advising the assessee to make voluntary payments towards the alleged tax liability without issuing any show cause notice/demand notice/recovery notice. The petitioner filed writ petition and contended that the letter was issued without any legal basis.

High Court Held

The High Court observed that the procedure followed by the department in issuing the advisory letter for voluntary payment without statutory notice is unknown to the law. Accordingly, the High Court quashed and set aside the impugned letter with a direction upon the authorities to be cautious and not issue such letters that tantamount to pressure tactics by the Department.