Income Tax Act, 1961

--Search and seizure--Block assessment Service of notice issued under section 143(2)--Assessee filed a return of income for the block period. Notice under section 143(2) was issued after 12 months of filing of the return. Commissioner (Appeals) concluded that issuance of such notice was beyond the prescribed period and, therefore, consequential assessment framed suffers from a jurisdictional error. Revenue submitted that the limitation period for issuance of notice under section 143(2) applies only in cases where return had been furnished under section 139 or in response to a notice under section 142(1) and not in block assessment cases. Held: If an assessment is to be completed under section 143(3) read with section 158BD, notice under section 143(2) shall be issued within one year from the date of filing of the block return and any such omission on the part of assessing officer is neither a procedural irregularity nor is it curable. Since notice under section 143(2) had not been served on assessee within the prescribed time limit and, therefore, the impugned block assessment framed under section 158BD was not valid.

Income Tax Act, 1961, Section 143(2)

Income Tax Act, 1961, Section 158BD

In the ITAT, Pune B Bench