Tribunal quashes assessment due to jurisdictional issue, rendering proceedings void ab initio.

The Tribunal allowed the appeal, quashing the assessment proceedings for the assessment year 2015-16 due to a jurisdictional issue regarding the Assessing Officer's lack of proper jurisdiction. The Tribunal held that the notice issued by the Assessing Officer without proper jurisdiction rendered the assessment proceedings void ab initio. Consequently, the other grounds raised by the assessee, including the disallowance of interest expenses, were not addressed as the primary legal challenge led to the nullification of the assessment.

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Issues:
1. Validity of assessment proceedings due to jurisdictional issue
2. Disallowance of interest expenses

Analysis:
Issue 1: Validity of assessment proceedings due to jurisdictional issue
The appeal concerns the assessment year 2015-16 and challenges the order of the Commissioner of Income-tax (Appeals) dated 12-03-2019, arising from the assessment order under section 143(3) of the Income Tax Act. The primary contention raised by the assessee is the lack of jurisdiction of the Assessing Officer (AO) who issued the notice under section 143(2) of the Act. The assessee argued that as per CBDT Instruction No. 1/2011, the jurisdiction for non-corporate assesses with income above specified limits lies with ACIT/DCIT. Despite being a non-corporate assessee residing in Kolkata with income exceeding Rs. 20 lakhs, the notice was issued by an ITO lacking jurisdiction. The Tribunal referred to a similar case and held that the notice issued by the ITO without proper jurisdiction renders the assessment proceedings void ab initio. Consequently, the assessment was quashed based on this legal ground, rendering other grounds moot.

Issue 2: Disallowance of interest expenses
The other grounds raised by the assessee regarding the disallowance of interest expenses were not adjudicated upon due to the quashing of the assessment proceedings on the jurisdictional issue. The Tribunal deemed it unnecessary to delve into the merits of the disallowance given the primary legal ground leading to the nullification of the assessment. Therefore, the appeal was allowed solely on the basis of the jurisdictional flaw, resulting in the quashing of the assessment proceedings for the assessment year in question.

In conclusion, the Tribunal upheld the appeal of the assessee, quashing the assessment proceedings due to the jurisdictional issue, and did not address the other grounds raised by the assessee as they became academic in light of the primary legal challenge.

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