Jurisdictional competence for reassessment notice is mandatory; action by a non-jurisdictional officer renders proceedings void ab initio.

Reassessment is invalid where the reasons to believe and the notice under section 148 are recorded and issued by an Assessing Officer who lacks jurisdiction over the assessee's case. Under sections 147 and 148, read with section 2(7A) of the Income-tax Act, the jurisdictional Assessing Officer must form the requisite belief and issue the notice as a condition precedent to valid reassessment. Action taken by a non-jurisdictional officer is contrary to the statutory scheme and cannot be cured by later transfer of the case. The reasons recorded and notice were therefore void ab initio, and the reassessment proceedings were quashed.

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Issues: Whether reassessment proceedings were invalid where the reasons to believe and notice under section 148 were issued by an Assessing Officer who did not have jurisdiction over the assessee's case.

Analysis: The reassessment was initiated by an officer who admittedly lacked jurisdiction, while the case was later transferred to the jurisdictional Assessing Officer. Section 147 permits assessment or reassessment only when the Assessing Officer having the relevant jurisdiction forms a reason to believe that income has escaped assessment. Section 148(1) likewise requires the notice to be issued by the Assessing Officer. Read with section 2(7A), the statutory scheme makes jurisdictional competence a condition precedent for both recording reasons and issuing notice. Since those foundational steps were taken by an without jurisdiction, the initiation itself was contrary to law and could not sustain the subsequent proceedings.

Conclusion: The reasons recorded and the notice issued by the non-jurisdictional officer were invalid, the reassessment proceedings were void ab initio, and the addition stood quashed in favour of the assessee.

Ratio Decidendi: Under sections 147 and 148 of the Income-tax Act, 1961, read with section 2(7A), only the Assessing Officer having jurisdiction can validly record reasons to believe and issue notice for reassessment; action by a non-jurisdictional officer is void ab initio.

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