G Square Realtors Private Limited filed a series of petitions requesting the court to annul the Income Tax Department’s attachment order, arguing that it was illegal and arbitrary.
The Madras High Court ruled that the Income Tax Department’s provisional order attaching the immovable properties of realtor G Square is invalid, as the time limit for the attachment had expired. Justice Krishnan Ramasamy noted that under Section 281B of the Income Tax Act, 1961, the IT department did not extend the attachment period, rendering the order against G Square ineffective.
G Square Realtors Private Limited had filed multiple petitions to annul the attachment order, claiming it was illegal and arbitrary. Senior counsel PH Arvindh Pandian, representing the petitioner, pointed out that the High Court had previously issued an interim order in favor of G Square, which stayed the attachment. He explained that Section 281B of the IT Act allows for an attachment order to last only six months, and since the order was issued in January, it had expired and lost its effect. He requested the court to issue a suitable order.
In response, senior standing counsel AP Srinivas for the IT department asked the court for permission to take steps to extend the attachment order under Section 281B(2) of the IT Act. However, the judge declined this request, stating that the IT department had failed to extend the validity of the attachment order.