Assessee can challenge the validity of order passed u/s 263 even during the Appellate Proceedings: ITAT Mumbai [Read Order]

In a recent order Mumbai bench of Income Tax Appellate Tribunal has held that, Assessee can challenge the validity of order passed under section 263 of the Income Tax Act even during the appellate proceedings.

The Tribunal was considering the question Whether the assessee can challenge the validity of an assessment order during the appellate proceedings pertaining to examination of validity of order passed u/s 263?

The Tribunal analysed the nature of both of the proceedings, which are under consideration before it and find that the original assessment proceedings can be classified in a way as ‘primary proceedings’. These are, in effect, basic / foundational proceedings and akin to a platform upon which any subsequent proceedings connected therewith can rest upon. The proceedings initiated u/s 263 seeking to revise the original assessment order is off shoot of the primary proceedings and therefore, these may be termed as ‘collateral proceedings’ in the legal framework.

The Tribunal bench comprising of Judicial Member Amit Shukla and Accountant Member Ashwani Taneja observed that, there is no doubt that after passing of the original assessment order, the primary (i.e. original proceedings) had come to an end and attained finality and, therefore, outcome of the same cannot be disturbed, and therefore, the original assessment order framed to conclude the primary proceedings had also attained finality and it also cannot be disturbed at the instance of the assessee, except as permitted under the law and by following the due process of law. Under these circumstances, it can be said that effect of the original assessment order cannot be erased or modified subsequently. In other words, whatever tax liability had been determined in the original assessment order that had already become final and that cannot be sought to be disturbed by the assessee. But, the issue that arises here is that if the original assessment order is illegal in terms of its jurisdiction or if the same is null & void in the eyes of law on any jurisdictional grounds, then, whether it can give rise to initiation of further proceedings and whether such subsequent proceedings would be valid under the law as contained in Income Tax Act?

It has been vehemently argued before us that the subsequent proceedings (i.e. collateral proceedings) derive strength only from the order passed in the original proceedings (i.e. primary proceedings). Thus, if order passed in the original proceedings is itself illegal, then that cannot give rise to valid revision proceedings.

Therefore, as per law, the validity of the order passed in the primary (original) proceedings should be allowed to be examined even at the subsequent stages, only for the limited purpose of examining whether the collateral (subsequent) proceedings have been initiated on a valid legal platform or not and for examining the validity of assumption of jurisdiction to initiate the collateral proceedings. If it is not so allowed, then, it may so happen that though order passed in the original proceedings was illegal and thus order passed in the subsequent proceedings in turn would also be illegal, but in absence of a remedy to contest the same, it may give rise to an ‘enforceable’ tax liability without authority of law. Therefore, the Courts have taken this view that jurisdictional aspects of the order passed in the primary proceedings can be examined in the collateral proceedings also. This issue is not resintegra.

The Tribunal was also observed that, the assessee should be permitted to challenge the validity of order passed u/s 263 on the ground that the impugned assessment order was non est.

Read the full text of the order below.

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