2025 (9) TMI 921

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....sment order dated 19.12.2019 passed u/s 144 of the Act pertaining to assessment year 2017-18. 2. The assessee has raised following grounds of appeal:- 1. "That on the facts and in the circumstances of the case, and in law, the Ld Assessing Officer has erred in making addition of Rs. 52,34,050 to the income of the assessee firm, on wholly illegal and frivolous grounds, untenable in law. It is prayed that addition made to income be directed to be deleted. 2. That the Ld AO has erred in law in holding that the return filed by the assessee firm on 19.06.2019, in compliance to notice dated 09.05.2019, issued u/s 142(1) of The I Tax Act, 1961, is an invalid return, having adjudicated on the said return filed and in completing....

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....ed to be an invalid return. The AO thereafter, issued several notices under s. 142(1) of the Act for the purpsoes of assessment. Some of the notices were partly complied with. The AO ultimately framed the assessment order dated 19.12.2019 under s. 144 of the Act whereby the income returned as per ITR was ignored and addition of INR 52,34,050/- was made under s. 69A of the Act towards unexplained money. The income was thus assessed at the same amount of INR 52,34,050/-. 4. The best judgement assessment made under s. 144 of the Act on the basis of material available on record by the AO was challenged before the Ld.CIT(A). However, the Ld.CIT(A) declined to give any relief to the assessee. 5. Aggrieved, the assessee preferred before the ....

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....under s. 142(1) of the Act, cannot be reckoned in law. The AO has made assessment under s. 144 in the absence of any valid return as per the statutory mandate. The income returned by the assessee has been ignored and the additions have been made by the AO based on material available on record. No fault can be found in the procedure adopted by the AO. The AO is entitled in law to frame the assessment under s. 144 of the Act in the absence of any valid return of record and there is no requirement in law to initiate proceedings under s. 147/148 of the Act in such circumstances. 8. We have considered the rival submissions on the subject matter. Section 144 provides that the AO is entitled to frame best judgement assessment after taking into ....