Pooja Prabhakar Vs ITO (ITAT Chennai)
Notice Dated 31-03-2021 but Digitally Signed on 01-04-2021 Is Fatal: ITAT Chennai Quashes Reassessments for Three Years
In Pooja Prabhakar vs. ITO, Non-Corp Ward-15(1), Chennai (ITA Nos.3046, 3047 & 3048/Chny/2025; AYs 2015-16, 2016-17 & 2017-18), the Chennai ITAT “D” Bench allowed all three appeals and quashed the reassessment orders passed u/s 147 r.w.s. 144, holding that the jurisdictional notice u/s 148, though dated 31-03-2021, was digitally signed and issued only on 01-04-2021, thereby attracting the new reassessment regime u/s 148A introduced by the Finance Act, 2021.
The Tribunal first condoned a substantial delay of 604 days in filing the first appeal, emphasizing that substantial justice must prevail over technicalities and relying on Collector, Land Acquisition v. Mst. Katiji and later Supreme Court rulings. It then admitted the pure legal ground challenging jurisdiction.
On merits, the Bench held that date of digital signature and ITBA issuance is the decisive date of “issue” of notice, not the printed date. Since the notice left the ITBA portal on 01-04-2021, the AO was mandatorily required to follow Section 148A procedures—issuance of show-cause notice, supply of material, opportunity of hearing, and passing a reasoned order u/s 148A(d) with approval of the specified authority. None of these safeguards were followed. The Tribunal relied extensively on Suman Jeet Agarwal (Del HC), Kalyan Chillara (Telangana HC), dismissal of SLP by the Supreme Court, and coordinate-bench rulings to conclude that non-compliance with Section 148A is jurisdictional and incurable.
Accordingly, the notice u/s 148 was held void ab initio, and all consequential reassessment orders for AYs 2015-16 to 2017-18 were quashed in entirety, rendering additions on merits academic. All three appeals were allowed.
FULL TEXT OF THE ORDER OF ITAT CHENNAI
