A notice of demand under Section 156 requires an existing...

A notice of demand under Section 156 requires an existing assessment or reassessment order fixing tax or arrears; absent such an antecedent order a demand notice is ultra vires and invalid. Where an original scrutiny assessment recorded nil liability, the revenue must invoke the reassessment/reopening procedure before creating fresh tax liability; issuing a demand years later on the same material without reopening under Section 147 amounts to an impermissible change of opinion. The impugned demand was therefore beyond jurisdiction and quashed.