Faceless Assessment Procedure invalidates jurisdictional notices issued outside automated allocation; those notices can be set aside.

Notices and orders under Sections 148-A(b), 148-A(d) and Section 148 of the Income-tax Act issued outside the faceless procedure are non-compliant where the E-Income Assessment Scheme, 2022 mandates automated allocation and faceless issuance under Section 144B read with Section 151A; the Scheme assigns issuance and related functions to the faceless mechanism, so concurrent issuance by the jurisdictional assessing officer falls outside the prescribed process and is void for non-compliance with the statutory scheme. The operative effect is that such notices/orders issued outside the faceless mechanism are invalid and liable to be set aside.

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Issues: Whether notices and orders issued under Sections 148-A(b), 148-A(d) and Section 148 of the Income-tax Act, 1961 by the jurisdictional assessing officer or otherwise outside the faceless mechanism provided under Section 144(B) read with Section 151A and the E-Income Assessment Scheme, 2022 (Notification S.O.1466(E) dated 29.03.2022) are valid or are liable to be set aside for lack of jurisdiction.

Analysis: The Court examined the statutory framework introduced into the Income-tax Act, 1961 for faceless assessments-notably Section 144(B) (faceless assessment procedure), Section 151A (mandate for scheme for issuance of notices and related proceedings), and the E-Income Assessment Scheme, 2022 notified on 29.03.2022 (S.O.1466(E))-which prescribes automated allocation by the National Faceless Assessment Centre (NFAC) and a faceless process for issuance of notices and reassessments. The Court considered precedents of coordinate High Courts and the Bombay High Court decisions (including Hexaware and Prakash Pandurang Patil) upheld by the Supreme Court, which hold that where the Scheme assigns issuance of notices and related functions to the faceless mechanism/FAO through automated allocation, concurrent issuance by the jurisdictional assessing officer is contrary to the Scheme and the legislative intent, renders the action void, and does not require the assessee to demonstrate additional prejudice to obtain relief. Applying those authorities and the Scheme's mandatory automated allocation and faceless procedure, the Court found the impugned notices/orders issued outside the faceless mechanism to be non-compliant with Section 151A and the notified Scheme.

Conclusion: The impugned notices and orders issued under Sections 148-A(b), 148-A(d) and Section 148 of the Income-tax Act, 1961 by the jurisdictional assessing officer or otherwise outside the faceless mechanism are invalid and are set aside; the writ petitions are allowed in favour of the petitioners.

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