IN THE HIGH COURT OF GUJARAT AT AHMEDABAD R/SPECIAL CIVIL APPLICATION NO. 15085 of 2025 FOR APPROVAL AND SIGNATURE:

HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE A.S. SUPEHIA and HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE PRANAV TRIVEDI ==========================================================

Approved for Reporting Yes No √

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THE DIAMOND JUBILEE CO OPERATIVE BANK LTD.

Versus UNION OF INDIA & ORS.

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Appearance:

MS. ANKITA S. SHAH(18002) for the Petitioner(s) No. 1 KARAN G SANGHANI(7945) for the Respondent(s) No. 2,3 MR PRADIP D BHATE(1523) for the Respondent(s) No. 1 ==========================================================

CORAM:HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE A.S. SUPEHIA and HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE PRANAV TRIVEDI Date : 25/11/2025

ORAL JUDGMENT

(PER : HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE A.S. SUPEHIA)

1 Rule. Learned Senior Standing Counsel Mr.Karan Sanghani, waives service of notice of rule on behalf of the respondents. Since short issue is involved and since it is submitted that the issue is squarely covered by the decision of this Court in the case of Principal Commissioner of Income-tax vs. Ashwinkumar Arban Co Operative Society Ltd., [2024] 168 taxmann.com 314 (Gujarat), the matter is taken up for final disposal today.

2 The petitioner has approached this Court praying for quashing and setting aside the notice dated 29.06.2025 issued under Section 148 of the Income-tax Act (for short “the Act”), the order dated 29.06.2025 passed under Section 148A(3) of the Act, and the show-cause notices dated 31.03.2025 and 23.05.2025 issued under Section 148A(1) of the Act as they are without jurisdiction, arbitrary, illegal and unconstitutional and violative of Articles 14 and 265 of the Constitution of India.

3 Brief facts of the case are as under:

3.1 The petitioner is a Co-operative Society registered under the relevant laws of the State of Gujarat, formerly engaged in the business of banking until the cancellation of its license by the Reserve Bank of India on 19.06.2004. Thereafter, the petitioner has been functioning solely as a Co-operative Society through its Official Liquidator.

3.2 For the Assessment Year 2020-21, the petitioner filed its return of income under Section 139(1) of the Act on 31.12.2020, duly verified in accordance with law. The return was selected for scrutiny. Notices under Section 143(2) of the Act dated 29.06.2021 and under Section 142(1) of the Act dated 04.01.2022 and 25.01.2022 were duly issued by the Department and complied with by the petitioner. Detailed replies with supporting material were furnished on 29.01.2022. Another notice dated 30.08.2022 was issued and was duly responded to on 07.09.2022.

3.3 Respondent No.2 completed the scrutiny assessment under Section 143(3) read with Section 144B of the Act vide order dated 26.09.2022. Subsequently, on 31.03.2025, and again on 23.05.2025, respondent No.2 issued notices under Section 148A(1) of the Act. These notices were purportedly based on an unsigned Audit Memorandum and alleged that the petitioner had wrongly claimed deduction under Section 80P(2)(d) on interest income earned from Co-operative Banks. The petitioner submitted detailed replies/objections dated

23.04.2025 and 27.05.2025.

4 Learned advocate Ms.Ankita Shah for the petitioner submitted that since the petitioner is not a Co-operative Bank but a Co-operative Society, whose license was cancelled in 2004, the deduction claimed under Section 80P(2)(d) is legally valid and supported by the decision in the case of Ashwinkumar Arban Co Operative Society Ltd (supra).

4.1 It is submitted that though such objections were raised before respondent No.2, respondent No.2 passed the impugned order under Section 148A(3) of the Act dated 29.06.2025 and also issued a notice on the same date under Section 148 of the Act. It is submitted that, thus, the present writ petition may be allowed in terms of the judgement passed in the case of Ashwinkumar Arban Co-operative Society