Faceless assessment jurisdiction failed where the order was passed before the regime's effective date, making the assessment invalid.

An assessment completed by the faceless authority on 28.03.2022 was held invalid because the faceless assessment regime under section 151A became effective only from 29.03.2022. Applying the coordinate Bench view on the same jurisdictional point, the assessment was found to have been framed before the notification took effect and therefore without lawful authority. The assessment order was quashed for want of jurisdiction.

---

---

Issues: Whether the assessment order passed by the National Faceless Assessment Centre on 28.03.2022, before the notification making the faceless assessment regime effective from 29.03.2022, was without jurisdiction and liable to be quashed.

Analysis: The assessment for the relevant year was completed by the faceless authority on 28.03.2022. The statutory framework governing faceless assessment under section 151A had been notified to operate only from 29.03.2022. In view of the earlier coordinate Bench ruling on the same jurisdictional point, the assessment was held to have been framed before the scheme became effective and therefore without lawful authority.

Conclusion: The assessment order was without jurisdiction and was quashed.

Ratio Decidendi: An assessment framed by the faceless assessment authority before the effective date of the notification bringing the faceless regime into force is invalid for want of jurisdiction.

---