Pecuniary jurisdiction limits under the applicable CBDT...

Pecuniary jurisdiction limits under the applicable CBDT instruction required reassessment of a non-corporate assessee in a mofussil area exceeding the prescribed limit to be handled by an Assistant or Deputy Commissioner, rather than an Income-tax Officer. As the reassessment notice was issued by an officer lacking that jurisdiction and the defect was unrebutted, the notice was inherently invalid. The consequential assessment was quashed as void ab initio, rendering the remaining grounds academic.