ITO Vs Allauddin Qureshi (ITAT Delhi)
The Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT), Delhi Bench, has set aside a reassessment order passed against an individual taxpayer, Allauddin Qureshi, for the assessment year 2017-18. The Tribunal ruled that the very foundation of the reassessment proceedings was invalid because the notice under Section 148 of the Income Tax Act, 1961, was not validly served on the assessee, having been sent to an old email address despite updated contact information being available with the department.
The case came before the ITAT following an appeal filed by the Revenue (Income Tax Officer) against an order of the Commissioner of Income Tax (Appeals) [CIT(A)], which had already held the reassessment proceedings to be without jurisdiction due to invalid notice service. The assessee had also filed a cross-objection, although it was ultimately not pressed during the hearing.
Allauddin Qureshi, a resident individual, had started a livestock business involving poultry, meat, and fish in January 2017. For the financial year 2017-18, relevant to AY 2017-18, the assessee reportedly had cash sales exceeding Rs. 1.13 crore, out of which over Rs. 1.08 crore was deposited into his RBL Bank account. The assessee admitted that his income tax return for this year was not filed, attributing the lapse to his tax consultant who allegedly kept him in the dark.
