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Notice of Demand under Section 156 invalid without antecedent assessment or reassessment; reopening under Section 147 required.
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....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.....