Portal Upload Alone Cannot Establish Issue of Section 148 Notice: ITAT Bangalore

Yella Vinod Kumar Vs DCIT (ITAT Bangalore)

Notice Uploaded on the Portal but Never Despatched: Bengaluru ITAT Quashes ₹1.14 Crore Reassessment

Summary: Can a reassessment survive merely because a notice under section 148 was generated and uploaded to the taxpayer’s e-filing account on the last day of limitation? The Bengaluru ITAT has held that, where the Department could not establish despatch of the notice or any real-time communication to the assessee, the reassessment lacked jurisdiction. The decision highlights the difference between a notice existing in the Department’s system and a notice being duly issued to the taxpayer.

Cash Deposits Led to Reopening

The assessee had not filed a return of income for AY 2015–16. Based on information that ₹1,14,49,815 had been deposited in cash into his ICICI Bank savings account at Ballari, the Assessing Officer initiated reassessment proceedings. A notice under section 148 was generated on 31 March 2021.

The assessee did not respond to the notices in the reassessment proceedings. The Assessing Officer completed the assessment under section 147 read with sections 144 and 144B, adding the entire cash deposit of ₹1,14,49,815. The assessee also remained non-compliant before the CIT(A), who upheld the addition in the absence of supporting evidence.