Assessment order quashed for delayed notice issuance, favoring assessee under Income Tax Act.

The Tribunal quashed the assessment order as void-ab-initio due to the delayed notice issuance under Section 143(2) of the Income Tax Act, 1961, which was found to be beyond the statutory time limit. Citing the mandatory nature of timely notice under Section 143(2), the Tribunal allowed the Cross Objection filed by the assessee, leading to the dismissal of the Revenue's appeal as infructuous. The final decision favored the assessee, with the assessment proceeding being deemed illegal.

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Issues:
1. Maintainability of assessment proceeding due to delayed notice under Section 143(2) of the Income Tax Act, 1961.

Analysis:
The appeal and Cross Objection were filed against the order passed by the Ld. Commissioner of Income Tax (Appeals) arising from an order under section 143(3) of the Income Tax Act for Assessment Year 2014-15. The Cross Objection raised the issue of maintainability based on the delay in serving the notice under Section 143(2) of the Act. The assessee contended that the notice was issued after the statutory time limit, which was not disputed by the authorities. The Ld. AR argued that the proof of service was not provided despite repeated requests. The Ld. AR referred to the judgment in the case of Alpine Electronics Asia Pvt. Ltd. to support the contention that timely service of notice under Section 143(2) is mandatory, not procedural. The Ld. AR prayed for quashing the order based on the delay in notice issuance.

The Tribunal considered the arguments and the judgments cited. It was established that the notice under Section 143(2) was indeed issued beyond the statutory time limit, as per the findings in the Alpine Electronics Asia Pvt. Ltd. case. The Tribunal concurred with the view that timely notice under Section 143(2) is mandatory and not merely procedural. Consequently, the Tribunal found the assessment order to be illegal due to the violation of the mandatory provision. Therefore, the Tribunal quashed the proceeding as void-ab-initio based on the delayed notice issuance. The Cross Objection filed by the assessee was allowed as a result of the above analysis.

As a consequence of allowing the Cross Objection, the appeal by the Revenue was deemed infructuous and dismissed. The final decision was in favor of the assessee, with the Cross Objection being allowed, and the Revenue's appeal being dismissed as infructuous. The order was pronounced on 29/09/2022.

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