Nadeem Mohammed Iqbal Patni Vs ITO (ITAT Mumbai)
ITAT Mumbai Quashes Reassessment for AY 2015–16: Notices Issued After 1-4-2021 Invalid in View of Revenue’s Concession in Rajeev Bansal
The Mumbai Bench of the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal allowed the appeal of Nadeem Mohammed Iqbal Patni for AY 2015–16, holding that the reassessment proceedings initiated after 01.04.2021 were without jurisdiction and therefore liable to be quashed.
The Tribunal admitted and adjudicated additional grounds challenging the very validity of reassessment on the issue of limitation and sanction, observing that these grounds went to the root of jurisdiction. The reassessment notice under Section 148 dated 18.04.2022, the order under Section 148A(d), and the consequent assessment order under Section 147 read with Section 144B dated 11.10.2023 were all issued under the new reassessment regime.
Relying heavily on the judgment of the Bombay High Court in Cherian Nallathu Abraham Annamma, which in turn was based on the categorical concession made by the Revenue before the Supreme Court in Union of India v. Rajeev Bansal, the Tribunal held that for AY 2015–16, all notices issued under Section 148 on or after 01.04.2021 must be dropped, irrespective of whether they were issued under the old or new regime.
The Tribunal noted that the Revenue had failed to distinguish the binding Bombay High Court decision either on facts or in law. Respectfully following the jurisdictional High Court, the Tribunal quashed the Section 148 notice, all consequential proceedings, the assessment order, and the resultant demand. All other grounds on merits were rendered infructuous.
Accordingly, the appeal was partly allowed, reaffirming that the Revenue’s concession before the Supreme Court on AY 2015–16 is binding, and reassessment notices issued after 01.04.2021 for that year are void ab initio.
FULL TEXT OF THE ORDER OF ITAT MUMBAI
