The Delhi Bench of Income Tax Appellate Tribunal ( ITAT ) has held that the filing of a fresh Income Tax Return was not necessary if the assessee felt that the earlier return should be considered for reassessment.
The assessee, Raj Kumar Prop, was an individual engaged in the business of crushing of sarso and binola in the name of M/s. Rajcotton & Oil Mills filed his return for AY 2011-12 on 10.09.2011 and it was reopened under section 147 of the Income Tax Act, 1961 by the issue of notice under section 148 of the Act on 29.03.2018.
During the reassessment proceedings, the Assessing Officer (“AO”) found from the ledger account of Shri Shyam Trading Co. that the assessee booked sales from the said concern and it was that Shyam Trading Co. was a concern of Vipin Garg who was engaged in the business of providing bogus accommodation entries and money laundering activities. The AO applied a profit rate of 8% on sales/gross receipts and completed the assessment under section 143(3) r.w.s. 147 of the Act.
Gautam Jain, who appeared on behalf of the assessee submitted that in the appellate order, it was observed that the return of income was not filed by the assessee in response to notice under section 148 of the Act regarding the jurisdiction.
He further submitted that the impugned reassessment proceedings were void ab-initio as the mandatory statutory notice under section 143(2) of the Act was not issued by the AO subsequent to the filing of return by the assessee in response to notice under section 148 of the Act.
Vivek Vardhan appeared on behalf of the revenue.
The Division Bench of E. N. K. Billaiya, (Accountant Member) and Astha Chandra, (Judicial Member) allowed the appeal observing that,
“It is now well settled that the assessee need not file a fresh return on receipt of notice under section 148 of the Act if he feels that the earlier return should be treated for the purpose of re-assessment, he may inform the Ld. AO of his decision to treat his previous return as the return filed in response to the notice and then the previous return shall be treated as the fresh return submitted in response to the notice.”
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