Prior approval for reassessment notice must be proved, or the notice and resulting assessment remain unsustainable.

Statutory prior approval as a condition precedent to issue notice under section 143(2) must be proved; where the Revenue cannot produce any order showing that approval was granted, the approval cannot be presumed. On that factual basis, the notice issued without proved approval was invalid, and the assessment framed under section 143(3) founded on that notice was unsustainable. The Tribunal's setting aside of the assessment was therefore upheld, and the reference was answered in favour of the assessee.

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Issues: Whether notice under section 143(2) could be issued without prior approval of the Range Deputy Commissioner, and whether the assessment made under section 143(3) could stand when such approval was not proved.

Analysis: The question was treated as one of fact. The Revenue failed to produce any order showing that the requisite approval for issuance of notice under section 143(2) had in fact been granted, despite opportunities. In the absence of proof of such approval, it could not be presumed to exist. Since notice under section 143(2)(b) could not be issued without that approval, the assessment founded on that notice was unsustainable.

Conclusion: The notice was invalid for want of proved approval, and the Tribunal was justified in setting aside the assessment under section 143(3).

Final Conclusion: The reference was answered in favour of the assessee and the Revenue.

Ratio Decidendi: Where statutory prior approval is a condition precedent to issuance of notice, the absence of proof of such approval renders the notice and consequent assessment unsustainable.

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