Faceless reassessment notice jurisdiction fails where Section 148 is issued by the jurisdictional officer despite the mandatory scheme.

Faceless assessment under the Income-tax Act was held to apply from the notice stage under Sections 148 and 148A, so a Section 148 notice issued by the jurisdictional Assessing Officer was without jurisdiction. Reading Section 151A with the CBDT notification dated 29.03.2022 and Section 144B, the court treated the faceless mechanism as mandatory for issuance of reassessment notice. It further held that assessment proceedings begin with the show cause notice stage, and that circulars, instructions, or office memoranda cannot override the statutory scheme. On that basis, the reassessment challenge succeeded and the notice was held unsustainable.

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Issues: Whether notice issued under Section 148 of the Income-tax Act, 1961 by the jurisdictional Assessing Officer was without jurisdiction in view of the faceless assessment scheme and the CBDT notification dated 29.03.2022.

Analysis: The scheme of faceless assessment was held to apply from the stage of notice under Sections 148 and 148A. Section 151A, read with the notification dated 29.03.2022 and Section 144B, was treated as making the faceless mechanism applicable to issuance of notice under Section 148. It was further held that assessment proceedings begin with the issuance of show cause notice, and that circulars, instructions, or office memoranda cannot override the statutory mandate.

Conclusion: The notice under Section 148 issued by the jurisdictional Assessing Officer was unsustainable, and the writ petition was disposed of in terms of the earlier coordinate bench decisions, leaving the revenue free to proceed in accordance with law.

Final Conclusion: The challenge to the reassessment notice succeeded on the jurisdictional issue, and the matter was concluded by following the earlier binding coordinate bench rulings.

Ratio Decidendi: Where the statute and the applicable CBDT notification make the faceless scheme operative from the notice stage, a notice under Section 148 issued by the jurisdictional officer is without jurisdiction, and administrative instructions cannot prevail over the statutory scheme.

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