Jurisdictional transfer without hearing invalidated subsequent notices and assessment for lack of valid jurisdiction.

A transfer of jurisdiction under section 127(2) was held invalid because the assessee was not given a reasonable opportunity of being heard and reasons were not properly recorded. That defect meant the subsequent notices issued under section 143(2) by non-jurisdictional officers were ineffective. Once jurisdiction reverted to the original assessing officer, the assessment was still completed without a valid notice under section 143(2), creating a jurisdictional defect. The assessment order was therefore quashed for want of valid jurisdiction, and the merits of the assessment were not examined.

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Issues: Whether the transfer of jurisdiction under section 127(2) without affording the assessee a reasonable opportunity of being heard was valid, and whether the notices under section 143(2) and the consequent assessment order were sustainable.

Analysis: The order transferring the case from one jurisdiction to another was passed without giving the assessee any opportunity of hearing, although section 127(2) requires such opportunity wherever possible and recording of reasons. The absence of hearing rendered the transfer order invalid. As the transfer itself was invalid, the officers who issued the notices under section 143(2) did not have valid jurisdiction. Once the transfer was cancelled and jurisdiction reverted to the original assessing officer, the assessment order was still passed without a valid notice under section 143(2), resulting in a jurisdictional defect.

Conclusion: The transfer order was invalid, the notices issued by the non-jurisdictional officers were ineffective, and the assessment order was quashed for want of valid jurisdiction.

Final Conclusion: The appeal succeeded on the jurisdictional ground alone, and the merits of the assessment were not adjudicated.

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