Notice u/s 148 of the Income Tax Act,1961 issued based on incomplete information without any verification, the Delhi Bench of the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT)quashed the assessment order.
Bhavmeet Singh Bhatia, the assessee submitted that the assumption of jurisdiction in reopening the impugned assessment order u/s 147 r.w. section 143(3) is bad in law as the AO has not complied with the statutory conditions as stipulated u/ss 147 to 151 of the Act.
It was contended that in the proforma for obtaining approval of PCIT u/s 151 of the Act at para 8(a), the AO noted that no return has been filed by the assessee. The said reasons were recorded on 23.03.2018 whereas the assessee had filed his return of income for AY 2011-12 much earlier than 23.03.2018. The initiation of reassessment proceedings has been done without application of mind and the sole premise for initiating the reassessment proceedings itself is baseless and wrong.
It was evident that the AO noted that the assessee has not filed the return of income for AY 2011-12 whereas the copy of the return of income available on pages 1-5 of the assessee’s paper book reveals that the assessee did file the return of income for AY 2011-12 on 31.03.2012. The AO noted that the assessee has not filed any return of income.
A Coram of single member Shri C M Garg, judicial member viewed that the AO has proceeded to initiate reassessment proceedings u/s 147 of the Act and issued notice u/s 148 on incorrect facts without application of mind.
The Tribunal quashed the assessment order while allowing the appeal and held that the reassessment proceedings u/s 147 of the Act and notice u/s 148 of the Act has been issued without application of mind by the AO based on incomplete information without any verification of the facts, without complying with the mandatory requirement of section 147 and 148 of the Act.
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