DCIT Vs RBA Buildtech Pvt. Ltd. (ITAT Delhi)
Old Law, New Date; Can’t Beat the Clock- Dispatch Delay Proves Fatal-Notice dated in March but served in April- Reassessment Invalid- ITAT Delhi Quashes ₹48 Cr Reassessment – ITAT Delhi Holds Reassessment Void Ab Initio
Revenue filed an appeal against the order of CIT(A) deleting additions made u/s 68 on account of unsecured loans aggregating to ₹48.30 crores received from group concerns. Assessee, in turn, raised a legal plea under Rule 27 of ITAT Rules, contending that the reassessment itself was invalid since the notice issued u/s 148 was defective. It was pointed out that though the notice was dated 31.03.2021 under the old law, it was actually dispatched on 20.04.2021, after the amendments brought in by Finance Act, 2021 had come into force from 01.04.2021, requiring compliance with new provisions u/s 148, 148A & 149. Thus, the entire reassessment was argued to be void ab initio.
Tribunal observed that Assessee had raised this ground even before CIT(A), but the appellate authority decided the case only on merits of the addition & did not adjudicate the jurisdictional objection. Relying on the Delhi High Court’s decision in Suman Jeet Agarwal v. ITO [2022] 143 taxmann.com 11 (Delhi), ITAT held that a notice can be considered “issued” only when it is actually dispatched to the assessee. Mere generation of the notice on 31.03.2021 is not sufficient; since dispatch was on 20.04.2021, the amended law applied & the procedure u/s 148A was mandatory. As this was not followed, the notice was invalid.
