HC Held That Issuing Second SCN Causes No Prejudice Where a Reply to First SCN Was Submitted

Case Details: Jindal Stone Works v. State of Jharkhand - [2024] 167 taxmann.com 229 (Jharkhand)

Judiciary and Counsel Details

• Sujit Narayan Prasad, ACTG. CJ. & Arun Kumar Rai, J.
• Sumeet Gadodia, Mrs Shilpi Sandil Gadodia & Ranjeet Khushwaha, Advs. for the Petitioner.
• Sachin Kumar, A.A.G.-II for the Respondent.

Facts of the Case

The petitioner challenged the issuance of a second SCN by the revenue authorities. It contended that it had already responded to the first SCN, and further contended that the issuance of a second SCN on the same issue was without jurisdiction.

The revenue authorities contended that the second SCN was issued due to discrepancies that remained after the first notice was responded to. They argued that the second SCN was necessary to clarify and further explain those discrepancies.

High Court Held

The court noted that the issuance of a second SCN did not cause any prejudice to the petitioner, especially since the petitioner had the opportunity to explain the discrepancies further. The court also noted that the second SCN was not issued arbitrarily, but to address additional discrepancies found in the petitioner’s returns hence the same is valid.