Reassessment notice invalid without approval from the prescribed authority when issued beyond three years, defeating the reassessment itself.

A reassessment notice issued beyond three years from the end of the relevant assessment year required prior approval from the Principal Chief Commissioner of Income Tax under section 151. Approval was instead taken from the Principal Commissioner of Income Tax, which did not satisfy the statutory requirement. The notice under section 148 was therefore invalid, and the reassessment framed on that notice suffered from the same jurisdictional defect and could not stand. The jurisdictional challenge was accepted in favour of the assessee, and both the notice and reassessment were treated as void ab initio.

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Issues: Whether a notice under section 148 issued beyond three years from the end of the relevant assessment year was invalid for want of prior approval from the competent authority under section 151, and whether the reassessment based on such notice could survive.

Analysis: The notice for the relevant assessment year was issued after the expiry of three years from the end of the assessment year, attracting the requirement of prior approval from the Principal Chief Commissioner of Income Tax under section 151. The approval, however, had been obtained from the Principal Commissioner of Income Tax. The approval was therefore not from the authority prescribed by law, rendering the notice under section 148 invalid. The reassessment framed on the basis of that notice consequently suffered from the same jurisdictional defect and could not stand.

Conclusion: The notice under section 148 and the reassessment order were held to be bad in law and void ab initio, and the ground challenging jurisdiction was allowed in favour of the assessee.

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