Global Cricket Corporation Pvt. Ltd. Vs Additional Director of Income Tax (ITAT Mumbai)
The assessee challenged the final assessment orders for Assessment Years 2005-06 and 2006-07 by raising additional legal grounds questioning the jurisdiction and validity of the reassessment proceedings. The Tribunal admitted these additional grounds as they involved pure questions of law capable of being decided on the basis of the existing record. The first issue concerned the absence of a notice under Section 143(2) after reopening the assessments under Section 147, while the second issue related to the Assessing Officer’s compliance with the mandatory procedure prescribed under Section 144C.
On the first issue, the assessee contended that no notice under Section 143(2) had been issued after reassessment proceedings were initiated under Section 147. The Department acknowledged that no copy of such notice was available on record but argued that issuance of a notice under Section 143(2) was not required in reassessment proceedings. The Tribunal rejected this contention after examining the assessment orders, which themselves stated that the assessments had been completed under Section 144C(1) read with Section 143(3). The Tribunal also relied on the Assessing Officer’s report confirming that notices under Section 143(2) were not available in the records. After considering the decisions of the Supreme Court, the Bombay High Court and other binding precedents, the Tribunal held that issuance of a notice under Section 143(2) is a mandatory jurisdictional requirement even in reassessment proceedings under Section 147. Since no such notice had been issued, the draft assessment orders were held to be invalid and without jurisdiction.
