High Court dismisses appeal challenging tax assessment due to jurisdictional defect. Ruling favors assessee.

The High Court of Bombay dismissed the appeal challenging the validity of an assessment under section 143(3) of the Income Tax Act, 1961 due to a jurisdictional defect in serving notice under section 143(2). The court held that the defect in serving the notice rendered the assessment invalid, ruling in favor of the assessee against the revenue. Additionally, the court found that the new provision introduced by the Finance Act, 2008 (section 292BB) was not applicable to the assessment year in question, thereby rejecting the revenue's argument based on this provision.

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Issues involved:
1. Validity of assessment u/s.143(3) of the Income Tax Act, 1961 due to a jurisdictional defect in serving notice u/s.143(2)
2. Applicability of new section 292BB inserted by the Finance Act, 2008

Issue 1 - Validity of assessment u/s.143(3):
The appellant filed a return of income on 20th October 2000 for assessment year 2000-2001. The notice u/s.143(2) was issued on 31st October 2001 but served on the assessee on 6th November 2001, beyond the prescribed twelve-month period. The Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT) held that the jurisdictional defect in serving the notice rendered the assessment u/s.143(3) invalid, illegal, null and void. Consequently, the ITAT's decision was in favor of the assessee, ruling against the revenue.

Issue 2 - Applicability of section 292BB:
The revenue argued that the provisions of Section 292BB, which deem a notice to be served if the assessee has cooperated in the assessment process, should apply in this case. However, Section 292BB was introduced by the Finance Act of 2008 and is not applicable to the assessment year 2000-2001 in question. Therefore, the argument based on Section 292BB was deemed to have no merit in this particular case.

In conclusion, the High Court of Bombay dismissed the appeal, stating that it did not raise any substantial question of law.

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