ACIT Vs Kuldeep Kaur (ITAT Delhi)
Notice Must Be Issued, Not Merely Generated- Notice u/s 148 Not Served Before Midnight- Service Failure Fatal – Technical Error in ITBA Cannot Extend Limitation: ITAT Says Reopening Barred by Limitation Despite AO’s Digital Signature
Revenue appealed against order of CIT(A)-NFAC dated 28.10.2024 while Assessee filed cross objection challenging the validity of reassessment u/s 147 r.w.s.144B. Core legal issue was whether notice u/s 148 dated 31.03.2021 was issued within limitation.
Assessee submitted that although the notice was digitally signed at 07:03 PM on 31.03.2021, it was never served on the ITD Portal, nor emailed, nor physically dispatched on or before midnight. Assessee first viewed the notice only on 05.07.2021. Letter dated 03.11.2025 from ACIT (extracted in order) confirmed that notice was generated on 31.03.2021 but not served due to “technical error”, thus despatch occurred only after 01.04.2021. Assessee relied on Supreme Court in Rajeev Bansal (2024 SCC OnLine SC 2693) & Delhi HC in Suman Jeet Aggarwal (143 taxmann.com 11).
Tribunal held that generation or digital signing is not “issuance”. Under section 149 & section 13 of IT Act 2000, a notice in electronic form is “issued” only when despatched to the Assessee’s designated electronic address on or before 31.03.2021. Since despatch took place only after 01.04.2021, the notice was time-barred, non-est & void in law.
