Assessment against a non-existent amalgamated company is void; section 292B cannot cure the jurisdictional defect.

An assessment framed in the name of a company that had ceased to exist after amalgamation was held invalid because, once the Revenue was informed of the merger, proceedings had to continue against the amalgamated entity. The defect was treated as a substantive illegality, not a curable irregularity, and section 292B of the Income-tax Act could not validate an assessment made against a non-existent person. The distinction drawn from later authority on clerical error was held inapplicable on the facts. The assessment was therefore void, and the order quashing it was upheld.

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Issues: Whether an assessment order framed in the name of a company that had ceased to exist after amalgamation was valid, and whether the defect could be cured under section 292B of the Income-tax Act, 1961.

Analysis: The notice under section 143(2) had been issued when the erstwhile company was still in existence, but the assessment was ultimately framed after amalgamation had taken effect and after the revenue had been informed of the merger along with the sanctioned scheme. Once informed, the Assessing Officer was required to proceed against the amalgamated entity and not continue in the name of the dissolved company. The order passed against a non-existent entity was treated as a substantive illegality, not a mere irregularity. The reliance on section 292B was rejected because that provision cannot cure an assessment made against an entity that had ceased to exist. The distinction from the later precedent on clerical error was held inapplicable on the facts.

Conclusion: The assessment order framed against the non-existent amalgamating company was invalid and void, and section 292B did not save it. The question of law was answered against the Revenue and in favour of the assessee.

Final Conclusion: The appeal failed, and the Tribunal's order quashing the assessment was upheld.

Ratio Decidendi: An assessment or jurisdictional proceeding initiated or continued in the name of a company that has ceased to exist after amalgamation is a substantive illegality and void in law, which cannot be cured by section 292B of the Income-tax Act, 1961.

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