Bibipur Primary Agriculture Cooperative Society Ltd Vs ITO (ITAT Chandigarh)
The primary ground raised was that notice u/s 148 dated 30.03.2022 had been issued by jurisdictional AO, whereas in view of CBDT Notification dated 29.03.2022, such notices were required to be issued only by Faceless AO. Assessee relied on Punjab & Haryana High Court ruling in Kudu Knit Process Pvt. Ltd. vs. UOI & other similar judgments where jurisdictional AO-issued notices post notification were quashed as invalid.
Tribunal noted that identical issue had been adjudicated earlier by the same Bench in ITA No.1040/CHD/2024, where reassessment was held void for want of jurisdiction when notice was issued by jurisdictional AO instead of Faceless AO. The Bench also referred to consistent rulings of jurisdictional High Court in Jatinder Singh Bhangu & Jasjit Singh cases, holding such notices to be void ab initio. Following binding precedent, Tribunal quashed reassessment order on ground that notice issued on 30.03.2022 by jurisdictional AO was invalid.
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) [in short ‘the CIT (A)’] dated 12.11.2024 passed for assessment year 2018-19.
2. Though the assessee has taken nine grounds of appeal, but at the very outset, ld. counsel for the assessee submitted that since notice u/s 148 of the Act was issued on 30.03.2022 by jurisdictional AO instead of Faceless AO, as contemplated in the Notification issued by the Finance Ministry dated 29.03.2022, thus, according to him, the impugned assessment order is not sustainable. In support of his contention, he relied upon judgement of Hon’ble Punjab & Haryana High Court in the case of CWP No. 22564 of 2025 in the case of M/s Kudu Knit Process Pvt. Ltd. Vs Union of India.
