Bharat Kumar S/o Laxman Ram Vs DCIT (Rajasthan High Court)
The Rajasthan High Court examined the validity of a notice dated 27 March 2024 issued under Section 148 of the Income Tax Act, 1961, and the consequent assessment order dated 23 March 2025 passed under Section 147. The petitioner challenged the proceedings primarily on the ground that the notice was issued by the Jurisdictional Assessing Officer (JAO) instead of a Faceless Assessing Officer (FAO), rendering the notice and subsequent assessment invalid.
The petitioner relied on earlier decisions of the Rajasthan High Court and judgments of the Bombay High Court, which had held that reassessment notices issued by the JAO, contrary to the faceless assessment scheme notified on 29 March 2022, were invalid. According to these precedents, any assessment order based on such an invalid notice would also be unsustainable in law.
The Revenue relied on a Gujarat High Court judgment where the Court had declined to interfere with a notice issued under Section 148 in a search-related matter and had directed the assessee to respond to the notice. The Rajasthan High Court found that the facts of that case were materially different. It noted that the Gujarat High Court decision was based on an interpretation of Explanation 2 to Section 148 and the view that the preconditions for issuing a notice in search cases required human application of mind and could not be met under the faceless regime.
