Reassessment jurisdiction fails without a Section 127 transfer order and fresh notice, rendering proceedings invalid.

Reassessment proceedings were held to be without jurisdiction where the Additional Commissioner continued action initiated by the Income Tax Officer without first recording independent reasons to believe escapement of income, without issuing a fresh notice under Section 148, and without any order under Section 127 transferring jurisdiction. The Tribunal noted that no transfer order existed on the record and that the statutory requirements for valid assumption of reassessment jurisdiction had not been met. On those facts, the reassessment was treated as bad in law for want of lawful authority.

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Issues: Whether the reassessment made by the Additional Commissioner of Income Tax was without jurisdiction for want of an order transferring the case under Section 127 of the Income-tax Act, 1961 and for absence of a fresh notice under Section 148 of the Income-tax Act, 1961.

Analysis: The Tribunal had found that the Additional Commissioner had not independently recorded reasons to believe that income had escaped assessment, had continued proceedings initiated by the Income Tax Officer without issuing a fresh notice under Section 148, and that no order under Section 127 transferred jurisdiction from the Income Tax Officer to the Additional Commissioner. The appeal did not show that any transfer order under Section 127 existed.

Conclusion: The reassessment order was rightly held to be without jurisdiction and bad in law.

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