Invalid section 143(2) notice by a non-jurisdictional officer vitiated the scrutiny assessment and could not be cured by file transfer.

A scrutiny assessment is void where the section 143(2) notice is issued by an officer lacking jurisdiction and the successor Assessing Officer completes the assessment without issuing a fresh valid notice. The defect was treated as one of subject-matter jurisdiction, not a mere territorial objection, so section 124(3) did not bar the challenge. The transfer of the file did not cure the original jurisdictional defect, and a notice issued by a non-jurisdictional officer could not confer valid scrutiny jurisdiction. The assessment framed on that basis was held invalid.

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Issues: Whether the assessment was vitiated because the notice under section 143(2) was issued by an officer lacking jurisdiction and the succeeding Assessing Officer completed the assessment without issuing a valid notice under that provision.

Analysis: The return had been filed with one assessing unit, while the scrutiny notice was issued by another officer. The assessee was a non-resident and the record showed that jurisdiction lay with the international taxation wing, yet the assessment proceeded on the basis of a notice issued by an officer who did not have jurisdiction over the assessee. The subsequent Assessing Officer completed the assessment without issuing a fresh notice under section 143(2). The objection was treated as one going to the root of subject-matter jurisdiction and not as a mere territorial objection. The Court applied the principle that issuance of notice under section 143(2) is mandatory for a valid scrutiny assessment and that a notice issued by a non-jurisdictional officer cannot confer valid jurisdiction. The case was also distinguished from objections barred by section 124(3), because the defect related to jurisdiction over the subject matter and not merely territorial jurisdiction. The transfer of the file did not validate the earlier jurisdictional defect, and the omission was not curable.

Conclusion: The notice under section 143(2) was without jurisdiction and the assessment framed on that basis was void.

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