Jurisdictional validity of section 143(2) notice: absence of competent issuing officer invalidates subsequent assessments under sections 143(3) and 147.

Validity of an assessment under section 143(3) turns on whether the statutory notice under section 143(2) was issued by an Assessing Officer possessing pecuniary or duly transferred jurisdiction; absence of a valid transfer order or jurisdictional notice renders the assessment invalid. Instruction No.1/2011 and accumulated authorities require a transfer order where jurisdiction shifts and treat section 292BB as limited to curing service defects, not the complete absence of a departmental notice. Waiver or objection under section 124(3) does not validate an assessment lacking competent jurisdiction; consequence here was quashing of assessments under sections 143(3) and 147.

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Issues: (i) Whether the assessment framed under section 143(3) of the Income-tax Act, 1961 is invalid for lack of jurisdiction because the statutory notice under section 143(2) was issued by an Assessing Officer who did not have pecuniary or transferred jurisdiction.

Analysis: The returned income exceeded the pecuniary limit specified in Instruction No. 1/2011 [F. No.187/12/2010-IT(A-I)] dated 31.01.2011, and no valid order under section 127(1)-(3) of the Income-tax Act, 1961 transferring jurisdiction to the issuing Assessing Officer was placed on record. Jurisdictional doctrine and authority establish that issuance of a notice under section 143(2) by the officer having jurisdiction is a prerequisite to a valid assessment under section 143(3). The Tribunal considered precedents addressing (a) the requirement of a transfer order where jurisdiction is shifted intra-city, (b) the effect of non-issuance of section 143(2) notice by the jurisdictional officer, and (c) the limited scope of section 292BB to cure defects in service but not to cure complete absence of a departmental notice. The objection under section 124(3) and the doctrine of waiver were examined but found not to validate an assessment where no competent transfer order or jurisdictionally proper notice exists. The accumulated authorities and Instruction No. 1/2011 were applied to the facts, leading to the conclusion that the assessment was framed without lawful jurisdiction.

Conclusion: The assessment framed under section 143(3) and the reassessment under section 147 of the Income-tax Act, 1961 are quashed for lack of jurisdiction; the appeal is allowed in favour of the assessee.

Ratio Decidendi: An assessment under section 143(3) of the Income-tax Act, 1961 is invalid if the statutory notice under section 143(2) was not issued by the Assessing Officer having pecuniary or duly transferred jurisdiction, and absence of such jurisdictional notice cannot be cured by section 292BB.

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