A return filed in response to a section 148 notice does not lose...

A return filed in response to a section 148 notice does not lose its character merely because it was submitted after the time stated in that notice, if it was filed during the pendency of reassessment proceedings. Once such a return is on record, the Assessing Officer must treat it as a return for assessment purposes and issue notice under section 143(2) before proceeding further; failure to do so vitiates jurisdiction. The Tribunal also held that the third proviso to section 148, introduced by the Finance Act 2023 with effect from 1 April 2023, did not apply. The reassessment was therefore quashed.