Valid service of notice is essential before ex parte assessment; certificate of posting alone does not establish jurisdiction.

An ex parte assessment under section 144 could not stand where no return had been filed and the statutory precondition of a validly served notice under section 139(2) was not met. The relevant pre-amendment provisions required either a return under section 139 or valid service of notice before section 142(1) could be invoked. Mere dispatch of the notice under certificate of posting, without reliable proof of service or proper registered post dispatch, was insufficient. In the absence of valid notice under section 139(2) or 148, the assessment was without jurisdiction and ab initio void.

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Issues: Whether the ex parte assessment made under section 144 was valid where no return had been filed and there was no valid service of notice under section 139(2).

Analysis: For the relevant assessment year, the pre-amendment provisions of sections 139(2) and 142(1) governed the issue. Section 142(1) could be invoked only where a return had been filed under section 139 or where a notice under section 139(2) had been validly served. The record showed only dispatch of the notice under certificate of posting, with no reliable proof of service or even of proper dispatch by registered post. In the absence of valid service, the statutory precondition for proceeding under section 142(1) was not satisfied. Since no return had been filed and there was no valid notice under section 139(2) or 148, the ex parte assessment lacked jurisdiction.

Conclusion: The assessment was ab initio void and was liable to be cancelled; the assessee succeeded.

Ratio Decidendi: An assessment under section 144 cannot stand unless the statutory precondition of a validly served notice under section 139(2) or a filed return is satisfied, and mere dispatch under certificate of posting does not establish valid service.

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