Faceless reassessment mechanism required for valid section 148A(d) order and section 148 notice issued by JAO

Reassessment action issued by the Jurisdictional Assessing Officer outside the faceless mechanism was treated as without jurisdiction. The Court followed its earlier view that, where section 144B read with section 151A and the notified scheme require faceless processing for income-escaping assessment, an order under section 148A(d) and a notice under section 148 must be issued through that mechanism. As the impugned order and notice were issued by the JAO instead, they were held invalid and liable to be set aside.

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Issues: Whether the order under section 148A(d) and the notice under section 148 issued by the Jurisdictional Assessing Officer, instead of through the faceless mechanism, were valid in law.

Analysis: The writ petition was decided by following the earlier order of the Court holding that reassessment notices and orders issued by the Jurisdictional Assessing Officer, or outside the faceless mechanism contemplated under section 144B read with section 151A and the notified scheme for income escaping assessment, were bad in law. On that basis, the issuance of the impugned order and notice by the JAO was treated as lacking jurisdiction.

Conclusion: The impugned order under section 148A(d) and the notice under section 148 were invalid and liable to be set aside, in favour of the petitioner.

Ratio Decidendi: Where the statute and the notified faceless reassessment scheme require action through the faceless mechanism, an order or notice issued by the Jurisdictional Assessing Officer outside that mechanism is without jurisdiction and unsustainable.

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