Mandatory section 143(2) notice after a section 148 return is a jurisdictional requirement; reassessment fails without it.

When a return filed in response to notice under section 148 is treated as the return, issuance of notice under section 143(2) is mandatory; failure to serve it is a fatal jurisdictional defect, not a curable irregularity. On that basis, the reassessment framed under sections 147 and 144 was held unsustainable, and the merits of the additions were not examined because they became academic.

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Issues: Whether the assessment framed under sections 147 and 144 was without jurisdiction for want of notice under section 143(2) after the return filed in response to notice under section 148 was sought to be treated as the return.

Analysis: The return filed by the assessee was requested to be treated as the return in response to notice under section 148. In such a situation, issuance of notice under section 143(2) was mandatory. The omission to serve that notice was treated as a fatal defect, not a curable procedural irregularity. The assessment proceedings were therefore held to be vitiated, and the order passed under sections 144 and 147 was held to be unsustainable. The merits of the additions were not examined as they had become academic.

Conclusion: The non-issuance of notice under section 143(2) rendered the reassessment invalid, and the appeal was decided in favour of the assessee.

Ratio Decidendi: Where a return is treated as filed in response to a notice under section 148, failure to issue notice under section 143(2) is a fatal jurisdictional defect that vitiates the reassessment.

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