Shake Akhtar Hossain Vs ACIT (ITAT Kolkata)
The Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT), Kolkata, considered the assessee’s appeal against the order of the Commissioner of Income Tax (Appeals)-9, Kolkata, for Assessment Year 2015-16. The assessee raised an additional legal ground contending that the assessment was invalid because the notice under Section 143(2) of the Income-tax Act had been issued by an Assistant Commissioner of Income Tax (ACIT) who lacked jurisdiction over the assessee. The assessee submitted that the returned income was Rs. 19,27,470, which, under CBDT Instruction No. 1/2011 dated 31 January 2011, fell within the pecuniary jurisdiction of the Income Tax Officer (ITO) and not the ACIT. The Tribunal admitted the additional ground and first examined the jurisdictional issue.
The Tribunal noted that the undisputed position was that the assessee’s jurisdiction vested with the ITO because the returned income was below Rs. 20 lakh for a non-corporate assessee in a metro city. Referring to its earlier decisions in Sri Krishnendu Chowdhury, Shri Sukumar Chandra Sahoo, and K.A. Wires Ltd., the Tribunal reiterated that CBDT Instruction No. 1/2011 is binding on the Department and determines the pecuniary jurisdiction of the Assessing Officer. It held that the notice under Section 143(2) issued by the ACIT was without jurisdiction. Consequently, the assessment framed pursuant to such notice was held to be bad in law, and the appeal was allowed on this legal ground.
