Smt. Suman Vs. ITO (Bombay High Court)
Where the period of issuing notice under section 143(2) of the Act has not expired, then reassessment notice under section 147/148 of the Act was invalid.
An Assessing officer cannot initiate reassessment proceedings, where intimation under section 143(1) has been issued and the Revenue failed to take steps to issue notice under section 143(2) and complete assessment under section 143(3) of the Act. The aforesaid contention was negatived in the above referred para on the ground that in the context of the facts before it, the time to issue notice under section 143(3) of the Act had expired. It is only thereafter that the assessing officer could have reason to believe that the income chargeable to tax has escaped assessment. It is in such cases that the assessing officer would not be prohibited under section 147/148 of the Act from seeking to recover tax on income which has escaped assessment. It is clear that no reassessment proceedings can be initiated so long assessment proceedings on the basis of return of income filed by the assessee is pending. The assessment proceedings would cease to be pending either by passing of an order under section 143(3) of the Act or by expiry of time to issue a notice under section 143(2) of the Act, to complete an assessment under section 143(3) of the Act. So long as the above event has not passed, the assessing officer cannot render the provision of section 143(2) of the Act redundant/otiose by issuing a notice for reopening an assessment under section 147/148 of the Act. Therefore, the above decision of the Apex Court in Rajesh Jhaveri’s Stock Brokers (P) Ltd. case have no application to the present facts, when admittedly the time to issue notice under section 143(2) of the Act to complete the regular assessment under section 143(3) of the Act has not expired.
