2025 (12) TMI 1710 - AT - Income Tax

Reassessment u/s147 without mandatory s.143(2) notice-defect not cured by s.292BB, reassessment declared void.

In reassessment under s.147, the dominant issue was whether failure to issue notice under s.143(2) renders the reassessment invalid and whether the defect ... Reassessment framed without issuing notice u/s 143(2) - Whether curable defect u/s 292BB - HELD THAT:- Issuance of a notice under section 143(2) Act is mandatory, even in a reassessment proceeding under section 147 of the Act. As decided in Oberoi Hotels Pvt. Ltd. [2018 (6) TMI 1472 - CALCUTTA HIGH COURT] has categorically held that an assessment framed without issuing notice u/s 143(2) of the Act is invalid and void ab initio, and such defect is not curable through section 292BB. The Revenue has not produced any evidence on record to show that notice under section 143(2) was issued. In absence of such mandatory notice, the reassessment proceedings are vitiated. Appeal of the assessee is allowed. 1. ISSUES PRESENTED AND CONSIDERED (i) Whether a reassessment framed under section 147 read with section 143(3) is invalid and liable to be quashed for non-issuance of mandatory notice under section 143(2) after the assessee files a return in response to notice under section 148. 2. ISSUE-WISE DETAILED ANALYSIS Issue (i): Validity of reassessment in absence of notice under section 143(2) Legal framework (as applied by the Tribunal): The Tribunal treated issuance of notice under section 143(2) as mandatory even in reassessment proceedings under section 147 after a return is filed pursuant to section 148. It also applied the principle that the defect of non-issuance of notice under section 143(2) is not curable under section 292BB, and that absence of such notice vitiates jurisdiction. Interpretation and reasoning: The Tribunal recorded as an admitted fact that no notice under section 143(2) was issued after the return filed in response to section 148. It held that issuance of notice under section 143(2) is a mandatory jurisdictional requirement in reassessment proceedings as well. The Tribunal further noted that the Revenue failed to produce any evidence showing issuance of the notice. On this basis, it concluded that the reassessment proceedings stood vitiated at the threshold, and once the assumption of jurisdiction is bad in law, the resultant assessment order cannot survive. Conclusions: The reassessment framed under section 147 read with section 143(3) without issuance of notice under section 143(2) was held to be invalid and void; the assessment order was quashed and the appeal was allowed.