Revisionary assessment under section 263 does not require a fresh notice under section 143(2) when confined to revised issues.

Where an assessment is reworked only in consequence of a revisionary order under section 263 and remains confined to the issues identified by the revisional authority, the original valid notice under section 143(2) continues to suffice and no fresh notice is required. Proceedings under section 263 are treated as a continuation of the original assessment and do not amount to a fresh plenary assessment or reassessment requiring a new return. Decisions relating to block assessment or search-related proceedings are not applicable in this setting. The practical effect is that an assessment under section 143(3) read with section 263 is not invalid merely because no new section 143(2) notice was issued.

---

---

Issues: Whether, after a revisionary order under section 263 of the Income-tax Act, 1961, the Assessing Officer was required to issue a fresh notice under section 143(2) before passing the assessment order under section 143(3) read with section 263, and whether the absence of such notice rendered the assessment invalid.

Analysis: The assessment originally framed under section 143(3) had already been preceded by a valid notice under section 143(2). The subsequent order under section 263 only directed the Assessing Officer to deal with the specific matter identified in the revisionary order and did not amount to a fresh, plenary assessment or a reassessment requiring a new return. The Tribunal held that proceedings pursuant to section 263 are a continuation of the original assessment proceedings and are confined to the scope of the revisionary directions. On that footing, section 143(2) does not mandate issuance of a fresh notice merely because the assessment is modified or reworked under section 263. The reliance placed on decisions concerning block assessment or search-related proceedings was held to be misplaced.

Conclusion: A fresh notice under section 143(2) was not mandatory in the circumstances, and the CIT(A) was in quashing the assessment on that ground.

Ratio Decidendi: Where an assessment is redone only in consequence of a revisionary order under section 263 and remains confined to the issues directed by the revisional authority, the original valid notice under section 143(2) suffices and no fresh notice is required.

---