Valid service of reassessment notice is a jurisdictional precondition; defective affixture service cannot validate proceedings.

Valid service of the section 34 notice was a jurisdictional precondition for reassessment. The HC noted that service had to comply with section 63 of the Income-tax Act and the applicable Order V CPC rules, requiring personal service where practicable and permitting affixture only after due and reasonable diligence and proper verification. The service reports did not establish those requirements, so substituted service by affixture lacked a proper foundation. A later reference to the notice by the assessee did not cure the defect or create a presumption of valid prior service. The reassessment proceedings were therefore without jurisdiction and invalid.

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Issues: Whether notice under section 34 of the Income-tax Act was properly served so as to confer jurisdiction on the Income-tax Officer to initiate and complete reassessment proceedings.

Analysis: Service of notice under section 34 is a mandatory condition for valid reassessment. Under section 63 of the Income-tax Act and the relevant provisions of Order V of the Code of Civil Procedure, service must be personal where practicable, and service by affixture is permissible only when the serving officer, after due and reasonable diligence, cannot find the person to be served and there is no agent or other person on whom service can be effected. The reports of service did not establish compliance with these requirements. There was no proper foundation for substituted service by affixture, and the return was not verified in the manner required by the procedural rules. A mere reference by the assessee to the notice in a later letter did not cure the defect or justify a presumption of valid prior service.

Conclusion: The notice under section 34 was not properly served, and the reassessment proceedings were without jurisdiction and invalid, in favour of the assessee.

Ratio Decidendi: Valid service of the statutory notice is a jurisdictional precondition for reassessment, and non-compliance with the prescribed mode of service renders the proceedings invalid.

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