The Kolkata bench of the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal ( ITAT ) quashed the reassessment notice, which was issued under Section 148 of the Income Tax Act, 1960, as it was issued beyond the statutory time frame.
In this case, the assessee, who is a retired person, did not file his income tax returns ( ITR ) for the assessment year ( AY ) 2014-15 as his income remained below the taxable limit.
Raise Funds Smarter – Your Guide to SME IPO Success- Click here to enroll
On the basis of the information received by the assessing officer ( AO ) regarding the transaction made by the assessee in immovable property in the financial year ( FY ) 2013-14, the AO issued a notice under Section 133 ( 6 ) of the Income Tax Act, 1961.
There was no compliance to the notice on the part of the assessee, and thus the AO issued notice under Section 148 of the Income Tax Act, 1961, and it was issued on 31-03-2021. The AO had assessed the appellant by considering the entire stamp duty value of the sold property for Rs. 16,83,600. As there was no e-mail address registered in the e-filing Portal, the notice was served to the assessee on 28.12.2021 by affixation through the departmental inspector.
Raise Funds Smarter – Your Guide to SME IPO Success- Click here to enroll
Although the assessee appealed before the Commissioner of Income Tax (Appeals) [CIT(A)], there were no favorable results, due to which the assessee appealed before the ITAT.
The counsel on behalf of the assessee contended that the AO, without verifying the information or obtaining the sale deed from the Additional District Sub-Registrar, wrongly added back the entire stamp duty value of the property sold for Rs. 16,83,600. It was further submitted that the order shows that the AO signed the notice under Section 148 on 31.03.2021, but it was not issued that day. Instead, it was served on the assessee on 28.12.2021, which is beyond the limitation period, making it invalid.
Raise Funds Smarter – Your Guide to SME IPO Success- Click here to enroll
The bench observed that although the AO had signed the notice under Section 148 of the Income Tax Act,1961 on 31-03-2021, the notice was issued on 28-12-2021, much after the date of the limitation, due to which the issuance of notice was bad in law.
The ITAT bench comprising of Mr. Rajesh Kumar (Accountant Member) and Mr. Pradip Kumar Choubey (Judicial Member) allowed the appeal filed by the assessee.
The bench was of the view that the issuance of the notice was bad in law and set aside the consequent orders passed.
Subscribe Taxscan Premium to view the JudgmentSupport our journalism by subscribing to Taxscan premium. Follow us on Telegram for quick updates
