Basavaraj Siddappa Gadagi Vs ITO (ITAT Bangalore)
Bengaluru ITAT: Reassessment Quashed as Section 148A(b) Notice Granting Less Than Seven Days’ Time Is Invalid
The Bengaluru Bench of the ITAT held that a notice issued under section 148A(b) granting the assessee less than the statutory minimum of seven days to respond is invalid, and consequently, the entire reassessment proceeding is liable to be quashed. The Tribunal observed that the requirement of providing “not less than seven days” under section 148A(b) is mandatory and non-compliance amounts to a violation of both the statutory mandate and the principles of natural justice.
In the present case, the Assessing Officer issued a section 148A(b) notice dated 22 March 2022, requiring the assessee to furnish a reply by 28 March 2022, thereby allowing less than seven days. Relying on the decisions of the Karnataka High Court in Masood Gulam v. ITO and Principal Chief Commissioner of Income-tax v. Smt. Komarla Yogendra Keertana, the Tribunal held that such a notice is legally unsustainable, and the Revenue could not justify the departure from the statutory minimum period.
Accordingly, the Tribunal quashed the notice issued under section 148A(b) as well as the consequential reassessment order, without examining the other grounds raised by the assessee, including the plea of limitation. The appeal was allowed.
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