Jurisdictional defect in section 148 notice invalidates reassessment where no fresh notice was issued by the proper Assessing Officer.

A reassessment cannot be sustained where the section 148 notice is issued by an officer lacking jurisdiction, because valid notice by the Assessing Officer having jurisdiction is a statutory precondition to reopening. Transfer of the case to the jurisdictional Assessing Officer does not cure the original jurisdictional defect, and the assessee's participation cannot validate a notice issued without lawful authority. Section 292BB applies only to defects in service of notice, not to the absence of power to issue it. In the absence of a fresh section 148 notice by the jurisdictional Assessing Officer, the reassessment was held invalid and was set aside.

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Issues: Whether reassessment was valid when notice under section 148 was issued by an officer lacking jurisdiction and, after transfer of the case to the jurisdictional Assessing Officer, no fresh notice under section 148 was issued.

Analysis: Notice under section 148 is a statutory precondition for making reassessment, and it must be issued by the Assessing Officer vested with relevant jurisdiction under section 2(7A). Where the original notice was issued by an incompetent officer, the defect went to jurisdiction and could not be cured by transfer of the case or by the assessee's participation. Section 292BB was inapplicable because it cures defects in service, not absence of lawful authority to issue the notice. Since the jurisdictional Assessing Officer completed the reassessment without issuing a fresh notice under section 148, the reassessment could not be sustained.

Conclusion: The reassessment was invalid and was rightly set aside; the issue is decided in favour of the assessee.

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