INCOME TAX ACT, 1961

Section 147

Reassessment - Validity - No service of notice under section 148 on assessee -

Assessee-company challenged validity of reassessment framed by AO on the ground that no notice under section 148 served upon assessee. AO's case was that notice issued under section 148 was received by one Chandan on direction of Aman Gupta, Director of assessee-company.Held: Service of notice issued under section 148 is a mandatory as well as jurisdictional requirement. In the instant case, AO had not admittedly sent any notice issued under section 148 to registered office address of assessee-company. Either through registered post or speed post and further AO made to efforts to serve notice through affixture at registered office address. Although assessee ahd categorically raised objection about non service of notice under section 148 but still no copy of notice issued under section 148 was served upon assessee at any subsequent point. Further, Chandan was neither employee of assessee nor was authorized to receive such notice and, therefore, in such a situation alleged service on Chandan could not be held to be a valid service in view of section 282 read with Order 5 of Code of Civil Procedure 1908. Accordingly, without valid service of section 148 notice, reassessment order was liable to be quashed.

Relied:CIT v. Chetan Gupta (2015) 62 Taxmann.com 249 (Del) and Charan Singh v. ITO [ITA No. 906/JP/2018] and Harjeet Surajprakash Girotra v. UOI In W.P. No. 513 of 2019 dt. 16-07-2019.

REFERRED :

FAVOUR : In assessee's favour.

A.Y. : 2007-08

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