Sushanta Ghosh Vs ITO (ITAT Kolkata)
The Income Tax Appellate Tribunal, Kolkata Bench, quashed a reassessment order framed by the National Faceless Assessment Centre (NFAC) on the ground of lack of jurisdiction. The assessee, engaged in trading of paddy and allied products, had filed a return declaring income of ₹4,80,200. Based on information that ₹12.16 crore was credited in the assessee’s bank account and allegedly not reflected in the books, reassessment proceedings were initiated under Sections 147 and 148 of the Income-tax Act, 1961. In the absence of compliance, the Assessing Officer added ₹12.16 crore and assessed total income at ₹12.20 crore, which was confirmed by the CIT(A). Before the Tribunal, the assessee challenged the jurisdiction of the faceless assessment. The Tribunal held that the assessment dated 22.03.2022 was invalid because the faceless reassessment framework under Section 151A was notified only on 29.03.2022. Since the procedural mechanism enabling faceless reassessment was not in force on the date of the order, the assessment was held void and quashed.
Core Issue:-The core issue before the Tribunal was the jurisdictional validity of an assessment framed by the National Faceless Assessment Centre (NFAC) under Section 147 of the Income-tax Act, 1961, when the statutory framework under Section 151A enabling faceless assessments had not yet been notified on the date the assessment order was passed.
