Rectified demand notice can serve as fresh notice of demand, allowing recovery without issuing another notice.

Rectification of a revised assessment can operate as a fresh notice of demand where the assessing officer expressly amends the existing demand notice to reflect the revised demand. In that situation, a separate further notice is unnecessary, and recovery may proceed on the rectified demand notice. The absence of a new notice of demand is not a valid objection once the earlier notice has been formally rectified to incorporate the enhanced demand. If no stay is obtained, the assessee may be proceeded against as a defaulter on the basis of the rectified demand.

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Issues: Whether a fresh notice of demand was required after rectification of the revised assessment and whether recovery could proceed on the basis of the rectified demand notice.

Analysis: The assessment was modified pursuant to the appellate order and the assessing officer not only rectified the revised assessment but also expressly rectified the existing demand notice by stating that the demand notice already issued stood rectified to the extent of the revised demand. On that footing, the rectified order operated as a fresh notice of demand. The Court held that, once the demand notice itself is rectified to reflect the enhanced demand, there is no necessity to issue another notice of demand. The contention based on absence of a fresh notice was therefore rejected, and the assessees were held liable to be proceeded against as defaulters if stay was not obtained.

Conclusion: A separate fresh notice of demand was not required because rectification of the earlier demand notice had the effect of issuing a fresh demand notice.

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