Ashok Kumar Tewari Vs ITO (ITAT Delhi)
Delhi ITAT Quashes Reassessment for Failure to Issue Mandatory Notice under Section 143(2)
The Delhi Bench of the ITAT quashed a reassessment order passed under sections 147 read with 144 for AY 2016-17, holding that the failure to issue a mandatory notice under section 143(2) rendered the reassessment void for want of jurisdiction.
The assessee contended that after issuance of notice under section 148, the Assessing Officer issued only notices under section 142(1) and never issued a notice under section 143(2). The Revenue argued that the assessment had been completed under section 144 due to non-compliance by the assessee and that this objection had not been specifically raised before the CIT(A).
The Tribunal examined the e-proceedings record and found that while notice under section 148 had been served, only notices u/s 142(1) were thereafter issued. There was no evidence that a notice u/s 143(2) had ever been issued. It held that the assessee’s general ground challenging the legality of the reassessment was sufficient to encompass this jurisdictional issue.
The ITAT further observed that the Assessing Officer had taken cognizance of the original return filed by the assessee and processed u/s 143(1). Since the reassessment involved making additions over and above the returned income, issuance of notice u/s 143(2) was mandatory. The fact that the assessment was ultimately completed u/s 144 did not dispense with this statutory requirement, as the defect went to the very assumption of jurisdiction.
Relying on the Supreme Court’s decision in ACIT v. Hotel Blue Moon, the Tribunal held that the absence of a notice u/s 143(2) vitiated the reassessment proceedings. Consequently, it allowed the appeal and quashed the reassessment order.
FULL TEXT OF THE ORDER OF ITAT MUMBAI
