The assessee company filed an appeal against the order dated 19 March 2025 passed by the Commissioner of Income Tax (Appeals)–29, New Delhi, arising from a reassessment order dated 21 December 2018 passed under section 147 of the Income-tax Act, 1961 for Assessment Year 2011-12.

The reassessment was initiated by issuance of notice under section 148 dated 30 March 2018. In response, the assessee requested that its original return of income filed on 27 September 2011 be treated as the return filed pursuant to the notice under section 148. One of the principal grounds raised by the assessee was that the reassessment order was passed without issuance of a mandatory notice under section 143(2) within the statutory time limit.

Before the Commissioner (Appeals), the assessee specifically contended that notice under section 143(2) was required to be issued on or before 30 September 2018, being six months from the end of the financial year in which the return was deemed to have been furnished. Although this contention was recorded, the appellate authority failed to adjudicate the issue.

Before the Tribunal, the assessee relied upon information obtained under the Right to Information Act, 2005, wherein the Department confirmed that the notice under section 143(2) was issued only on 26 October 2018. The certified copy of the notice was placed on record. It was further pointed out that the assessment order merely mentioned issuance of notice under section 143(2) without specifying the date, and that the assessee’s reply dated 26 November 2018 clearly referred only to a notice under section 142(1) dated 12 October 2018.

The Tribunal examined the assessment records and the RTI response and observed that the notice under section 143(2) was admittedly issued beyond the statutory limitation period, i.e., after 30 September 2018. The factual position remained uncontroverted by the Revenue.

Holding that issuance of a valid notice under section 143(2) within the prescribed time is a mandatory jurisdictional requirement for completing reassessment under section 147, the Tribunal accepted the assessee’s plea. It was held that failure to comply with this statutory mandate rendered the reassessment proceedings void ab initio.

Accordingly, the Tribunal allowed the appeal and quashed the impugned reassessment order.

Source Link- https://itat.gov.in/public/files/upload/1767953613-YAYmsw-1-TO.pdf

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