Pardaman Singh Vs ITO (ITAT Chandigarh)
Reassessment Quashed for Jurisdictional Defect: Section 148 Notice Issued by Wrong Authority
The Chandigarh Bench of the ITAT quashed the reassessment proceedings for AY 2018-19 on the ground of lack of jurisdiction. The Tribunal held that the notice issued under section 148 was invalid as it was issued by the jurisdictional Assessing Officer instead of through the faceless mechanism mandated by the Ministry of Finance Notification dated 29.03.2022.
The assessee challenged the reassessment at the threshold, contending that after the said notification, all reassessment notices were required to be issued only through the Faceless Assessment system. The Revenue could not controvert this legal position.
The Tribunal relied on its earlier coordinate bench decisions and binding judgments of the jurisdictional Punjab & Haryana High Court (including Jatinder Singh Bhangu and Jasjit Singh), which categorically held that reassessment notices issued by jurisdictional AOs post-notification are without authority of law.
Respectfully following these precedents, the Tribunal held that the notice issued u/s 148 (and consequential reassessment) was void ab initio and quashed the entire reassessment proceedings. Accordingly, the assessee’s appeal was allowed in full.
FULL TEXT OF THE ORDER OF ITAT CHANDIGARH
The assessee is in appeal before the Tribunal against the order of the ld. Commissioner of Income Tax (Appeals) NFAC [in short ‘the CIT (A)’] dated 24.07.2024 passed in assessment year 2018-19.
