Validity of reassessment without statutory notice under section 143(2): defect is mandatory and cannot be cured by section 292BB.

Issuance of the statutory notice under section 143(2) is mandatory for valid reassessment; absence of that notice defeats subsequent assessment under section 143(3) read with section 147, because the defect cannot be cured by the curative provision. The reasoning follows Supreme Court and High Court precedents rejecting that the 143(2) notice is a mere procedural formality; ITAT relied on Ahmedabad bench authority to hold assessments void where the prescribed notice was not issued within the statutory timeframe. Consequence: reassessments framed without the statutory notice are unsustainable and the assessee's ground succeeds.

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Issues: Whether the assessment framed under section 143(3) read with section 147 of the Income-tax Act, 1961 is sustainable in the absence of issuance of statutory notice under section 143(2) after issuance of notice under section 148.

Analysis: The Tribunal examined the sequence of notices issued during reassessment proceedings and found that after issuance of notice under section 148 and filing of return, no notice under section 143(2) was issued prior to passing the assessment order under section 143(3) read with section 147. Relevant precedent establishes that issuance of notice under section 143(2) is a mandatory statutory requirement and that its absence renders the subsequent assessment invalid. The Tribunal relied on binding and persuasive authorities holding that the defect cannot be cured and that statutory procedural requirements under sections 142 and 143 must be followed.

Conclusion: The assessment framed under section 143(3) read with section 147 is not sustainable due to absence of notice under section 143(2); the ground raised by the assessee is allowed.

Ratio Decidendi: Where reassessment proceedings follow issuance of notice under section 148, the statutory notice under section 143(2) must be issued within the prescribed procedure and time; failure to issue that notice renders an assessment under section 143(3) read with section 147 unsustainable and is not curable under section 292BB.

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