Notice under s.143(2) held not served within statutory period; dispatch number insufficient; assessment lacked jurisdiction; s.292BB inapplicable

The HC held the notice under s.143(2) was not served within the statutory period; provision of a dispatch number did not make that finding perverse. Because the notice was not validly served, the Assessing Officer lacked jurisdiction to make the assessment. The defect in service could not be cured under s.292BB. No substantial question of law arose, and the appeal was dismissed.

---

---

Issues: Valid service of notice u/s 143(2) and applicability of Section 292BB for curing defects in notice service.

Issue 1: Valid service of notice u/s 143(2)
The appeal was filed by the revenue against the order of the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal regarding the service of notice u/s 143(2) of the Income Tax Act, 1961. The CIT (A) held that there was no evidence to prove that the notice had been served on the assessee within the required timeframe. The Tribunal affirmed this finding. The revenue argued that the notice had been dispatched on a specific date, but the courts held that the notice was not served within the stipulated time, rendering the assessment void as the Assessing Officer lacked jurisdiction to make the assessment without a valid notice being served.

Issue 2: Applicability of Section 292BB for curing defects in notice service
The revenue contended that any defect in the service of notice u/s 143(2) could be cured under Section 292BB of the Act. However, the courts disagreed, stating that the absence of notice being served cannot be considered curable under Section 292BB. They emphasized that the mere issuance of a dispatch number does not validate the service of notice if it was not actually served within the required time frame. Therefore, the courts dismissed the appeal, concluding that no substantial question of law arose in this case.

In conclusion, the High Court upheld the decision of the lower courts, emphasizing the importance of valid service of notice u/s 143(2) within the prescribed time frame and rejecting the argument that defects in notice service could be cured under Section 292BB of the Income Tax Act, 1961.

---