Assessment jurisdiction under the Income-tax Act cannot be chosen by the assessee; special notifications do not displace ordinary powers.

Section 120 of the Income-tax Act preserves the ordinary allocation of assessment jurisdiction, while section 120(4)(b) creates a special enabling power for specified cases without displacing the general scheme. A notification issued under that special power was treated as operating alongside, not in substitution for, the ordinary jurisdiction of the Assessing Officer. An assessee has no legal right to insist on assessment by a chosen income-tax authority, and mandamus will not issue to compel assessment by a Joint Commissioner. The notification was therefore upheld and the challenge to jurisdiction failed.

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Issues: Whether the impugned notification under section 120(4)(b) of the Income-tax Act, 1961 divested the ordinary Assessing Officer of jurisdiction and whether the assessee could insist that the assessment be made only by a Joint Commissioner or obtain a mandamus to that effect.

Analysis: Section 120 of the Income-tax Act, 1961 preserves the ordinary allocation of assessment powers under sub-sections (1) and (2), while sub-section (4)(b) operates as a special enabling provision for exceptional or specified cases. The notification of 17 September 2001 was issued under that special power and did not override the general scheme of jurisdiction. The statutory language makes the special arrangement operate without prejudice to the general powers of the assessing authorities. The assessee has no legal right to select the particular income-tax authority who should assess the case, and the court will not compel assessment by a chosen officer through mandamus.

Conclusion: The notification was valid and did not take away the ordinary jurisdiction of the Assessing Officer; the assessee was not entitled to insist on assessment by a Joint Commissioner. The writ petition failed.

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