Invalid return notice defeats best judgment assessment when statutory time to respond is not fully given.

A notice requiring a return under section 22(2) of the Indian Income-tax Act, 1922 was invalid because it allowed only 29 days, whereas the statute required at least 30 days. A later extension could not cure the defect, since the illegality arose from the original notice itself. As the initiating notice was not in statutory compliance, a best judgment assessment under section 23(4) based on non-compliance with that notice could not stand. The notice was therefore illegal and the assessment invalid.

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Issues: Whether a notice requiring the assessee to file a return under section 22(2) of the Indian Income-tax Act, 1922 was valid when it allowed less than the minimum prescribed time, and whether an assessment made under section 23(4) could stand on the basis of such notice.

Analysis: The statutory requirement was that the proposed assessee must be given at least 30 days to furnish the return. The notice issued in this case afforded only 29 days. A later extension of time did not cure the defect because the illegality lay in the original notice itself. Where the initiating notice is not in conformity with the statute, a best judgment assessment founded on failure to comply with that notice cannot be sustained.

Conclusion: The notice under section 22(2) was illegal, and the assessment under section 23(4) was invalid.

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