ITO Vs LS Industries Ltd. (ITAT Chandigarh)
Summary: The Revenue filed an appeal before the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal, Chandigarh Bench, against the order of the Commissioner of Income Tax (Appeals) dated 20.05.2024 for assessment year 2015-16. The Revenue challenged the deletion of an addition of Rs.4,59,29,599/- made by the Assessing Officer and also raised the issue of validity of the assessment in view of non-issuance of notice under Section 143(2) of the Income-tax Act, 1961.
The assessee had not filed its return of income for AY 2015-16. The Assessing Officer issued notice under Section 148 on 31.03.2021, allowing 30 days for filing the return. The assessee did not file the return within that period and ultimately filed it on 22.01.2022. Before that filing, the Assessing Officer had issued notice under Section 142(1) on 16.12.2021 and subsequently another notice on 07.03.2022. No notice under Section 143(2) was issued on the return filed on 22.01.2022.
Before the Tribunal, the assessee defended the CIT(A)’s conclusion on this issue with reference to Rule 27 of the ITAT Rules. Reliance was placed upon PCIT Vs COSMAT Traders Pvt. Ltd., PCIT Vs Shri Cherian Abraham and ACIT Vs Hotel Blue Moon. The Revenue, on the other hand, contended that since the assessee had not filed the return within the period allowed, issuance of notice under Section 143(2) was not necessary.
