Valid return under reassessment notice requires section 143(2) notice; omission vitiates reassessment.

A return filed in response to a notice under section 148 remains a valid return, even if submitted after the time mentioned in the notice, so long as assessment proceedings are still pending. Once such a return is furnished, the reassessment must follow the statutory procedure, including issue of notice under section 143(2). Failure to issue that notice is a jurisdictional defect, not a curable irregularity, and vitiates the reassessment. The reassessment framed without section 143(2) notice was therefore quashed.

---

---

Issues: Whether a return filed in response to a notice under section 148 of the Income-tax Act, 1961, though beyond the time mentioned in the notice, remained a valid return and whether the Assessing Officer could frame reassessment without issuing notice under section 143(2) of the Income-tax Act, 1961.

Analysis: A return furnished in response to a notice under section 148 is to be treated as a return required under section 139 and does not become non-est merely because it is filed belatedly, provided the assessment proceedings are still pending. Once such a return is filed, the statutory procedure for framing assessment applies, and notice under section 143(2) is mandatory before completing the reassessment. The failure to issue that notice goes to the root of jurisdiction and cannot be treated as a curable irregularity.

Conclusion: The reassessment framed without issuing notice under section 143(2) was invalid and was quashed, with the appeal allowed.

---