Notice under section 143(2) must be served within proviso time - late or misserved notice renders assessment void

HC held that a notice under section 143(2) must be served on the assessee within the time set by the proviso; failure to do so renders any resulting assessment order null and void. The Department did not attempt to serve the notice at the correct address on record, and a subsequent notice issued after the limitation period expired was invalid. Decision rendered in favor of the assessee.

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Issues:
1. Validity of notice under section 143(2) of the Income-tax Act, 1961 for assessment year 2006-07.

Analysis:
The appeal by the Revenue challenged the order passed by the Income-tax Appellate Tribunal regarding the assessment year 2006-07. The issue revolved around the validity of the notice served under section 143(2) of the Act. The Tribunal and the Commissioner of Income-tax (Appeals) found the service by affixture to be invalid. It was noted that the assessee had provided a different address in their tax filings and had shifted from the address where the notice was attempted to be served. The correct address was available with the Department and was mentioned in various official documents. The failure to serve the notice at the correct address within the stipulated time rendered the subsequent attempt invalid.

The requirement for serving a notice under section 143(2) within the prescribed time limit was emphasized based on previous judgments. The court referred to the case law of CIT v. Lunar Diamonds Ltd., where it was held that failure to serve the notice within the specified period would invalidate the assessment order. In the present case, the Assessing Officer had initially attempted to serve the notice at an outdated address, leading to the notice being returned undelivered. Subsequent attempts to serve the notice at the correct address were made long after the limitation period had expired, which was deemed insufficient to rectify the initial failure.

The factual findings highlighted the discrepancy between the address where the notice was attempted to be served and the address provided by the assessee in their filings. The court noted that the correct address was clearly available with the Department and had been used in previous official documents. The failure to make a reasonable attempt to serve the notice at the correct address within the stipulated time period led to the dismissal of the appeal by the Revenue. The judgment reaffirmed the importance of adhering to procedural requirements, especially regarding the service of notices, to maintain the validity of assessment orders.

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