Shri Radha Krishan Mandir Trust Vs ITO (ITAT Delhi)
Reassessment Quashed—Return Filed u/s 148 Held Valid; Absence of Mandatory s.143(2) Notice Makes Entire 147/144 Order Void
Assessment was completed u/s 144 r.w.s 147 on 26.12.2019 by adding ₹51,80,801 u/s 69A. Trust filed return on 30.04.2022 in response to notice u/s 148 dated 29.03.2022, with just 2 days’ delay (even that delay disappears if date of receipt is considered). AO treated this return as invalid, and completed reassessment without issuing notice u/s 143(2). CIT(A) upheld the addition.
Before ITAT, Trust argued that—
- Return filed in response to 148 cannot be treated as invalid,
- s.143(2) notice is mandatory,
- Absence of such notice renders assessment invalid.
Tribunal examined para 4 of assessment order & noted that AO wrongly treated ROI as invalid, even though it appeared as valid on the e-filing portal.
Tribunal relied on Delhi HC in Dart Infrabuild (118 CCH 174) holding that:
- s.143(2) notice is mandatory even for belated return filed in response to 148;
- Non-issuance is not curable under s.292BB.
Tribunal also followed its own orders in Artistic Finance Pvt Ltd (05.05.2025) and Reena Mittal (04.06.2025) and several Delhi HC rulings—Jai Shiv Shankar Traders, Delhi Kalyan Samiti, Shaily Juneja, Primary Real Estate Investments—all quashing 147 reassessments for want of s.143(2).
