Revenue's appeal dismissed for time-barred notice under Income Tax Act

The Appellate Tribunal dismissed the Revenue's appeal, upholding the decision that the notice issued under section 143(2) of the Income Tax Act on 15/10/2018 was beyond the statutory limitation period. The Tribunal found the assessment order null and void due to the time-barred notice. Additionally, the Tribunal agreed that without a valid notice under section 153C, the return filed under that section could not be considered, further supporting the nullity of the assessment order.

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Issues involved:
The judgment deals with issues related to the time limit for issuing notices under sections 143(2) and 153C of the Income Tax Act, the validity of assessment orders, and the consequences of non-adherence to statutory timelines.

Issue 1 - Time limit for notice u/s 143(2):
The appeal was filed by the Revenue against the order of the Commissioner of Income Tax Appeals-23, New Delhi, regarding the assessment year 2017-18. The primary contention was the timeliness of the notice issued under section 143(2) of the Income Tax Act. The Revenue argued that the notice dated 15/10/2018 was within the prescribed period, whereas the assessee contended that it was time-barred as per the proviso to section 143(2).

Judgment on Issue 1:
The Appellate Tribunal found that the notice issued under section 143(2) on 15/10/2018 was beyond the statutory limitation period, as the return was filed on 07/02/2018, and the last date for issuing the notice was 30/09/2018. Citing precedents like ACIT vs. Hotel Blue Moon and CIT vs. Chetan Gupta, the Tribunal upheld the CIT(A)'s decision that the assessment order was null and void due to the time-barred notice u/s 143(2).

Issue 2 - Validity of assessment order under section 153C:
The Department contended that the return filed by the assessee under section 153C was non est since no notice u/s 153C was issued for the assessment year 2017-18. The Department argued that the only valid return was filed under section 139(4) on 07/02/2018, and the notice u/s 143(2) issued later was time-barred.

Judgment on Issue 2:
The Tribunal agreed with the Department's position, emphasizing that without a valid notice under section 153C, the return filed under that section could not be considered. The Tribunal upheld the CIT(A)'s decision that the notice u/s 143(2) was time-barred, rendering the assessment order null and void.

Separate Judgment by the Judges:
The Appellate Tribunal, comprising Shri Shamim Yahya and Shri Yogesh Kumar U.S., Judicial Member, dismissed the Revenue's appeal. The Tribunal found no merit in the Revenue's arguments and upheld the CIT(A)'s decision regarding the time-barred notice u/s 143(2) and the consequent nullity of the assessment order. The judgment was pronounced on 06th July 2023.

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