Court Quashes Decade-Old Show Cause Notices Due to Procedural Delays. Non-communication of transfer to call book and prolonged delay in adjudication render ICICI Bank subsidiary's show cause notices invalid.

Case Note & Summary

The petitioner, a wholly owned subsidiary of ICICI Bank Limited, sought a declaration from the court that the proceedings initiated by two show cause notices dated 22nd October 2010 and 21st October 2011 for FY 2005-06 and FY 2006-07, respectively, be declared null due to delays in adjudication. The court found that the non-communication of the transfer of these notices to the call book was fatal to the case of the respondents. The court relied on previous judgments which emphasized the importance of timely adjudication and communication with the parties involved. Consequently, the court quashed the two show cause notices and ruled in favor of the petitioner.

The petitioner, a wholly owned subsidiary of ICICI Bank Limited, seeks a declaration from the court regarding the show cause notices dated 22nd October 2010 and 21st October 2011 for FY 2005-06 and FY 2006-07, respectively.

Petitioner received notices on 26th November 2020 and 11th January 2021 for personal hearings, prompting the current petition filed on 25th January 2021. Ad-interim relief was granted on 24th January 2022.

The court decided to finalize the petition at the admission stage due to the completion of pleadings with the consent of counsel.

The respondents stated that the show cause notices were transferred to the call book on 22nd June 2012 due to the department's appeal in the Apex Court in Malabar Management Services Pvt. Ltd.

It became clear that the petitioner was not informed about the transfer of the show cause notices to the call book, which Ms. Desai acknowledged.

The key issue is whether non-communication of the transfer to the call book is fatal to the respondents' case, which the court answered affirmatively.

The court relied on judgments such as:

The court referenced this case, where non-communication of transfer to the call book rendered the show cause notice lapsed, confirmed by the Apex Court.

Ms. Desai argued that the issue of transfer to the call book is pending in the Apex Court, referencing Union of India vs. Siddhi Vinayak Syntex Pvt. Ltd.

The court noted that the issues raised in Malabar Management Services Pvt. Ltd. were decided in favor of the assessee, rendering the adjudication of the show cause notices futile.

The court quashed and set aside the two show cause notices dated 22nd October 2010 and 21st October 2011.

The court issued a writ declaring the adjudication proceedings in relation to the impugned SCNs as not maintainable due to the inordinate delay of 9 to 10 years.

The petition was disposed of, and the two show cause notices were quashed.