Rupinder Kaur Arora Vs ACIT (ITAT Delhi)
Reassessment Quashed for Non-Issuance of 143(2) – Jurisdictional Defect Cannot Be Cured by Participation
The Delhi ITAT allowed the assessee’s appeal and quashed the reassessment for AY 2012-13 on the ground that no notice under Section 143(2) was ever issued, rendering the entire assessment without jurisdiction. The Tribunal found that neither the assessment order nor the NFAC order recorded any clear details regarding issuance of notice under Section 143(2), and the screenshots of the ITBA portal produced by the assessee showed issuance of notice under Section 148 only, with no trace of any 143(2) notice.
The Tribunal held that the CIT(A) wrongly shifted the burden on the assessee to prove non-issuance, whereas the onus lay on the Revenue to demonstrate issuance of the mandatory jurisdictional notice. It clarified that this was not a case of defective service but of complete non-issuance, which goes to the root of jurisdiction and cannot be cured by participation in proceedings. Reliance on Hotel Blue Moon was held misplaced, as the issue was not procedural irregularity but absence of notice itself.
Accordingly, sustaining the jurisdictional ground, the Tribunal quashed the entire reassessment and allowed the assessee’s appeal in full.
FULL TEXT OF THE ORDER OF ITAT DELHI
