Ammapalayam Basuvaptti Primary Agricultural Co-op Credit Society Ltd. Vs ITO (ITAT Chennai)
Assessee challenged reassessment u/s 147/148 wherein NFAC denied 80P deduction & made addition of ₹32,43,480. Tribunal first admitted an additional legal ground that the notice u/s 148 dated 06.04.2022 was void ab initio because CBDT Notification 18/2022 (& Scheme under s.151A) mandated that post-29.03.2022 all 148/148A notices must be issued only by Faceless AO, yet here the Jurisdictional AO (JAO) issued the notice. After examining the notice & a long list of precedents, Tribunal held that the Madras High Court Division Bench in Mark Studio India (P) Ltd (24.06.2025) & Bombay HC in Hexaware Technologies Ltd conclusively rule that a 148 notice issued by JAO after 29.03.2022 is invalid, notwithstanding contrary Delhi/Calcutta views. Since jurisdictional HC DB favours Assessee, reassessment was declared illegal & quashed; Tribunal declined to enter merits. In the penalty appeal u/s 271B, Tribunal noted that statutory audit under Tamil Nadu Co-op Act was completed only on 30.11.2018 (page 9), delay was beyond Assessee’s control, TAR was later furnished to AO, & applying s.273B & several Chennai ITAT decisions, penalty of ₹1.5 lakh was deleted.
Result: Reassessment annulled; 80P addition deleted; 271B penalty deleted; both appeals allowed.
