Imran Majeed Vs ITO (ITAT Amritsar)
The Income Tax Appellate Tribunal adjudicated two appeals for Assessment Years (AY) 2018–19 and 2019–20 arising from reassessment orders passed under section 147 read with sections 144 and 148 of the Income-tax Act, 1961. For AY 2018–19, the assessee challenged the reassessment primarily on jurisdictional grounds, contending that the mandatory sanction under section 151(ii) was invalid. The Tribunal admitted an additional legal ground, noting that more than three years had elapsed from the end of the relevant assessment year and, therefore, approval for issuing notice under section 148 and the order under section 148A(d) ought to have been granted by the Principal Chief Commissioner or equivalent authority, not by the Principal Commissioner. On examination of records, the Tribunal found that approval had been accorded by the Principal Commissioner, rendering the sanction defective. Relying on binding judicial precedents, including decisions of the Bombay High Court and the Supreme Court affirming that sanction by an incompetent authority vitiates reassessment proceedings, the Tribunal held the notice dated 4 April 2022 to be legally invalid. Consequently, the entire reassessment proceedings for AY 2018–19 were quashed, and the appeal was allowed on this legal ground alone, without adjudicating issues on merits.
