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Income Tax Appellate Tribunal, “B” BENCH KOLKATA
Before: Shri Sanjay Garg & Rajesh Kumar
Assessment Year: 2015-16 Rohit Baid………………………..…………………… ........................……Appellant Nokha House, 190B, S P Mukherjee Road, Kalighat, Kolkata – 700026. [PAN: ADPPB7719R] vs. ITO, Ward-36(1), Kolkata…...................…................…........……...…..…..Respondent Appearances by: Shri Bikash Surana, AR, appeared on behalf of the appellant. Shri P. P. Barman, Addl. CIT- Sr. DR, appeared on behalf of the Respondent. Date of concluding the hearing : June 13, 2024 Date of pronouncing the order : September 12, 2024 आदेश / ORDER संजय गग�, �या�यक सद�य �वारा / Per Sanjay Garg, Judicial Member: The present appeal has been preferred by the assessee against the order dated 07.11.2023 of the National Faceless Appeal Centre [hereinafter referred to as ‘CIT(A)’] passed u/s 250 of the Income Tax Act (hereinafter referred to as the ‘Act’).
2. The assessee in this appeal has taken the following grounds of appeal:
1. For that the ITO Ward 36(1) Kolkata was not vested with the pecuniary Jurisdiction over the case of the Assessee for the year under consideration, therefore, the notice u/s 148 dated 3 1.03.2021 issued by non-jurisdictional AO does not have legal sanctity and thus subsequent proceedings and assessment dated 07.11.2023 cannot be sustained and is liable for being struck down, thus bad in law and void.
2. For that the notice u/s 148 of the Act is a jurisdictional notice, any inherent defect therein cannot be cured under section 292B of the Act.
For that as per the CBDT Instruction No. 1/2011 the jurisdiction of the assessee fall under the jurisdiction of the ACIT and not ITO, issue of notice u/s 148 pursuant to the said binding Instruction was not vested with the requisite jurisdiction.
4. For that the reopening of assessment by merely quoting Insight Portal information is invalid without conducting any independent enquiry and without verifying the veracity and truthfulness of such information. 5. For that the 'reasons recorded' had fundamental factual errors, notice u/s 148 for reopening on incorrect facts is without jurisdiction and hence cannot be sustained, the approval u/s 151 of higher authorities thus being mechanical in nature 6. For that the proceedings u/s 147 of the IT Act are invalid, since there being no findings in the "reason recorded" as well as in the notice u/s 148" that the appellant had understated any income as per requirement of explanation 2(b) to sec 147 of the Act. 7. For that the Appellant craves leave to add, alter any further Grounds of Appeal
.”
3. Though the assessee through its grounds of appeal has agitated the confirmation of the impugned additions made by the Assessing Officer both on legal grounds as well as factual merit, however, the ld. counsel has firstly raised the legal issue relating to the pecuniary jurisdiction of the concerned Assessing Officer who issued notice u/s 148 of the Income Tax Act to assume jurisdiction to reopen the assessment u/s 147 of the Act. The ld. counsel in this respect has invited our attention to the copy of notice dated 31.03.2021 issued u/s 148 of the Act to submit that the same has been issued by ITO, Ward- 36(1), Kolkata. He has further invited our attention to the copy of the ITR acknowledgement for assessment year 2015-16 to show that the assessee had returned total income of Rs.17960490/-. The ld. counsel has further referred to the provisions of section 120 of the Act r.w. CBDT Instruction No.1/2011 [F.No.187/12/2010-IT(A-I), Dated 31.01.2011 to submit that as per the relevant statutory provisions not only the territorial jurisdiction but also the pecuniary jurisdiction of the Income Tax Officers/Assessing Officer has been fixed by the CBDT and that if the returned income is less than Rs.20 lakhs for non-corporate assessees, the jurisdiction to frame to assessment lies to the Income Tax Officer, whereas, if the returned income is more than Rs.20 lakhs, the jurisdiction lies with the concerned ACIT/DCIT. He has submitted that in this case, the notice u/s 148 has been issued by ITO, Ward–36(1), Kolkata, whereas, the jurisdiction to issue the notice u/s 148 lied with concerned ACIT/DCIT. He has further submitted to assume jurisdiction to reopen the assessment u/s 147 of the Act, a valid notice u/s 148 of the Act was required to be issued by the competent authority/Assessing Officer having jurisdiction over the assessee. The ld. counsel has submitted that the notice u/s 148 of the Act has not been issued to the assessee by the Assessing Officer having pecuniary jurisdiction over the assessee. He, therefore, has submitted that the reopening of the assessment by non-jurisdictional officer was bad in law. The ld. Counsel has submitted that the issue is squarely covered by the recent decision of the jurisdictional Hon’ble Calcutta High Court in the case of PCIT vs. Shree Shoppers Ltd. in ITAT/39/2023 in IA No.GA/1/2023 dated 15.03.2023. The ld. Counsel for the assessee has further relied on the decision of the Coordinate ‘C’ Bench of the Tribunal in the case of M/s J R Roadlines Pvt. Ltd. vs. DCIT in order dated 27.05.2022. The relevant part of the order of the Tribunal is reproduced as under:
“4. At the outset, the ld. counsel for the assessee has invited our attention to the impugned assessment order to show that in the opening lines of the assessment order itself, it has been mentioned that the assessee had shown a total income of Rs.2,07,18,275/- in the return of income filed on 11.09.2012 for the assessment year under consideration. The ld. Counsel has further submitted that as per the relevant statutory provisions not only the territorial jurisdiction but also the pecuniary jurisdiction of the Income Tax Officers/Assessing Officer has been fixed by the CBDT and that if the returned income is less than Rs.30 lacs in case of corporate assessee in metro cities, the jurisdiction to frame the assessment lies to the Income Tax Officer whereas if the returned income is more than Rs.30 lacs, the jurisdiction lies with the concerned ACIT/JCIT. The ld. counsel has submitted that the jurisdiction to pass the assessment order in this case laid with the ACIT/DCIT as the income declared by the assessee was more than Rs.30 lacs. The ld. counsel has further invited our attention to the impugned assessment order to show that the assessment order in this case has been passed by DCIT, Circle- 1(1), Kolkata. He has further invited our attention to the first para of the assessment order wherein, it has been mentioned that notice u/s 143(2) dated 09.08.2013 was issued and duly served upon the assessee. The ld. counsel has further invited our attention to the copy of the aforesaid notice u/s 143(2) dated 09.08.2013 which has been placed at page 27 of paper-book. A perusal of the aforesaid notice u/s 143(2) dated 09.08.2013 reveals that the same has been issued by the Office of the Income Tax Officer (ITO), Ward-1(1), Kolkata. The ld. counsel in this respect has submitted that in this case, the jurisdiction to issue notice u/s 143(2) of the Act vested with the DCIT and not with the ITO on account of pecuniary jurisdiction, the returned income being more than Rs.30 lacs of the assessee. He has further submitted as per the settled proposition of law, the issue of notice u/s 143(2) by the concerned Assessing Officer of competent jurisdiction was sine qua non to assume jurisdiction to frame assessment u/s 143(3) of the Act. He, in this respect, has relied upon the decision of the Hon’ble Supreme Court in the case of ACIT vs. M/s Hotel Blue Moon (supra). The ld. counsel, therefore, has submitted that in this case the concerned DCIT did not issue any notice u/s 143(2) of the Act before proceeding to frame assessment u/s 143(3) of the Act. He has submitted that since the concerned ITO, Ward-1(1) did not have jurisdiction to issue notice u/s 143(2) of the Act as such the said notice issued by him did not have any legal sanctity. He, therefore, has submitted that the assessment framed by the DCIT, in this case, was bad in law for want of issue of notice u/s 143(2) of the Act. The ld. DR could not rebut the aforesaid legal position based on aforesaid factual aspect put by the ld. counsel for the assessee. However, she has relied upon the findings given by the Assessing Officer in the assessment order.
5. We have considered the rival contentions of ld. representatives of both the parties and gone through the records. Before proceeding further, it will be appropriate to refer to section 120 of the Act which, for the sake of ready reference, is reproduced as under: “Jurisdiction of income- tax authorities (1) Income- tax authorities shall exercise all or any of the powers and perform all or any of the functions Conferred on, or, as the case may be, assigned to such authorities by or under this Act in accordance with such directions as the Board may issue for the exercise of the powers and performance of the functions by all or any of those authorities. [Explanation.- For the removal of doubts, it is hereby declared that any income- tax authority, being an authority higher in rank, may, if so directed by the Board, exercise the powers and perform the functions of the income-tax authority lower in rank and any such direction issued by the Board shall be deemed to be a direction issued under sub-section (1)]. (2) The directions of the Board under sub- section (1) may authorise any other income- tax authority to issue orders in writing for the exercise of the powers and performance of the functions by all or any of the other income- tax authorities who are subordinate to it. (3) In issuing the directions or orders referred to in sub- sections (1) and (2), the Board or other income- tax authority authorised by it may have regard to any one or more of the following criteria, namely:- (a) territorial area; (b) persons or classes of persons; (c) incomes or classes of income; and (d) cases or classes of cases …… 6. A perusal of the aforesaid statutory provisions would reveal that the jurisdiction of Income Tax Authorities may be fixed not only in respect of territorial area but also having regard to a person or classes of persons and income or classes of income also. Therefore, the CBDT having regard to the income as per return has fixed the jurisdiction of the Assessing Officers. The ld. Counsel in this respect has relied upon the CBDT Instruction No.1/2011 [F.No.187/12/2010-IT(A-I), for the sake of convenience is reproduced as under: “Instruction No.1/2011 [F.No.187/12/2010-IT(A-I), DATED 31-1-2011 References have been received by the Board from a large number of taxpayers, especially from mofussil areas, that the existing monetary limits for assigning cases to ITOs and DCs/ACs is causing hardship to the taxpayers, as it results in transfer of their cases to a DC/AC who is located in a different station, which increases their cost of compliance. The Board had considered the matter and is of the opinion that the existing limits need to be revised to remove the abovementioned hardship. An increase in the monetary limits is also considered desirable in view of the increase in the scale of trade and industry since 2001, when the present income limits were introduced. It has therefore been decided to increase the monetary limits as under: Income Income Declared Declared (Mofussil areas) (Metro cities) ITOs ACs/DCs ITOs DCs/ACs Corporate returns Upto Above Upto Rs. 30 Above Rs. 30 lacs Rs. Rs. 20 lacs 20 lacs lacs Non-corporate Upto Above Upto Rs. 20 Above Rs. 20 lacs returns Rs. Rs. 15 lacs 15 lacs lacs Metro charges for the purpose of above instructions shall be Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Chennai, Delhi, Kolkata, Hyderabad, Mumbai and Pune. The above instructions are issued in supersession of the earlier instructions and shall be applicable with effect from 1-4-2011.”
7. A perusal of the above provisions of law along with the CBDT Instructions would show, in this case, the competent officer to proceed with the assessment by way of issue of notice u/s 143(2) of the Act was DCIT/ACIT, whereas, the notice u/s 143(2) has been issued by the ITO, Ward-1(1), Kolkata who did not have any jurisdiction to issue the aforesaid notice. As has been held by the various courts of the country including the Apex Court, the issuance of notice u/s 143(2) by the concerned Assessing Officer of a competent jurisdiction is mandatory to assume jurisdiction to proceed to frame assessment u/s 143(3) of the Act. The identical issue also came into consideration before the Coordinate Bench of the Tribunal in the case of Bhagyalaxmi Conclave (P) Ltd. v. DCIT [IT Appeal No.2517/Kol/2019, dated 3-2-2021] wherein the Tribunal further relying upon various other decisions of the Co-ordinate Benches of the Tribunal has decided the issue in favour of the assessee and held that when the notice u/s 143(2) was issued by an officer who did not have jurisdiction to proceed with the assessment and the assessment was framed by the other officer who did not issue the notice u/s 143(2) before proceeding to frame the assessment, then such an assessment order was bad in law. The relevant part of the order passed in Bhagyalaxmi Conclave (P) Ltd. (supra) is reproduced as under: “5.2. The assessee relied on the recent decision of this Tribunal in the case of Hillman Hosiery Mills Pvt. Ltd. vs. DCIT, in order dated 12.01.2021. We find that the issues that arise in this appeal are clearly covered in favour of the assessee. This order followed the principles of law laid down in a number of other decisions of the ITAT, Kolkata Bench on this issue. 5.3. Kolkata “B” Bench of the Tribunal in the case of Hillman Hosiery Mills Pvt. Ltd.(supra) held as follows: “10. In this case, the ITO Ward-3(3), Kolkata, issued notice u/s 143(2) of the Act on 04/09/2014. In reply, on 22/09/2014, the assessee wrote to the ITO, Ward-3(3), Kolkata, stating that he has no jurisdiction over the assessee. Thereafter on 31/07/2015, the DCIT, Circle-11(1), Kolkata, had issued notice u/s 142(1) of the Act to the assessee. The DCIT, Circle-11(1), Kolkata, completed assessment u/s 143(3) of the Act on 14/03/2016. The issue is whether an assessment order passed by DCIT, Circle-11(1), Kolkata, is valid as admittedly, he did not issue a notice u/s 143(2) of the Act, to the assessee. This issue is no more res-integra. This Bench of the Tribunal in the case of Soma Roy vs. ACIT in Assessment Year 2015-16, order dt. 8th January, 2020, under identical circumstances, held as under:- “5. After hearing rival contentions, I admit this additional ground as it is a legal ground, raising a jurisdictional issue and does not require any investigation into the facts. The ld. Counsel for the assessee submitted that as per Board Instruction No. 1/2011 [F. No. 187/12/2010-IT(A-I)], dt. 31/01/2011, the jurisdiction of the assessee is with the Assistant Commissioner of Income Tax, Circle- 1, Durgapur, as the assessee is a non-corporate assessee and the income returned is above Rs.15,00,000/- and whereas, the statutory notice u/s 143(2) of the Act, was issued on 29/09/2016, by the Income Tax Officer, ward-1(1), Durgapur, who had no jurisdiction of the case. He submitted that the assessment order was passed by the ACIT, Circle-1(1), Durgapur, who had the jurisdiction over the assessee, but he had not issued the notice u/s 143(2) of the Act, within the statutory period prescribed under the Act. Thus, he submits that the assessment is bad in law. 5.1. On merits, he rebutted the findings of the lower authorities. The ld. Counsel for the assessee relied on certain case-law, which I would be referring to as and when necessary.
6. The ld. D/R, on the other hand, submitted that the concurrent jurisdiction vests with the ITO as well as the ACIT and hence the assessment cannot be annulled simply because the statutory notice u/s 143(2) of the Act, was issued by the ITO and the assessment was completed by the ACIT. He further submitted that the assessee did not object to the issue of notice before the jurisdictional Assessing Officer and even otherwise, Section 292BB of the Act, comes into play and the assessment cannot be annulled. On merits, he relied on the orders of the lower authorities.
I have heard rival contentions. On careful consideration of the facts and circumstances of the case, perusal of the papers on record, orders of the authorities below as well as case law cited, I hold as follows:- 8. I find that there is no dispute in the fact that the notice u/s 143(2) of the Act dt. 29/09/2016 has been issued by the ITO, Wd-1(1), Durgapur. Later, the case was transferred to the jurisdiction of the ACIT on 11/08/2017. Thereafter, no notice u/s 143(2) of the Act was issued by the Assessing Officer having jurisdiction of this case and who had completed the assessment on 26/12/2017 i.e., ACIT, Circle- 1(1), Durgapur. Under these circumstances, the question is whether the assessment is bad in law for want of issual of notice u/s 143(2) of the Act. 9. This Bench of the Tribunal in the case of Shri Sukumar Ch. Sahoo vs. ACIT in order dt. 27.09.2017, held as follows:- “5. From a perusal of the above Instruction of the CBDT it is evident that the pecuniary jurisdiction conferred by the CBDT on ITOs is in respect to the 'non corporate returns' filed where income declared is only upto Rs.15 lacs ; and the ITO doesn't have the jurisdiction to conduct assessment if it is above Rs 15 lakhs. Above Rs. 15 lacs income declared by a non- corporate person i.e. like assessee, the pecuniary jurisdiction lies before AC/DC. In this case, admittedly, the assessee an individual (non corporate person) who undisputedly declared income of Rs.50,28,040/- in his return of income cannot be assessed by the ITO as per the CBDT circular (supra). From a perusal of the assessment order, it reveals that the statutory notice u/s. 143(2) of the Act was issued by the then ITO, Ward-1, Haldia on 06.09.2013 and the same was served on the assessee on 19.09.2013 as noted by the AO. The AO noted that since the returned income is more than Rs. 15 lacs the case was transferred from the ITO, Ward-1, Haldia to ACIT, Circle- 27 and the same was received by the office of the ACIT, Circle-27, Haldia on 24.09.2014 and immediately ACIT issued notice u/s. 142(1) of the Act on the same day. From the aforesaid facts the following facts emerged: i) The assessee had filed return of income declaring Rs.50,28,040/-. The ITO issued notice under section 143(2) of the Act on 06.09.2013. ii) The ITO, Ward-1, Haldia taking note that the income returned was above Rs. 15 lacs transferred the case to ACIT, Circle-27, Haldia on 24.09.2014. iii) On 24.09.2014 statutory notices for scrutiny were issued by ACIT, Circle-27, Haldia.
We note that the CBDT Instruction is dated 31.01.2011 and the assessee has filed the return of income on 29.03.2013 declaring total income of Rs.50,28,040/-. As per the CBDT Instruction the monetary limits in respect to an assessee who is an individual which falls under the category of 'non corporate returns' the ITO's increased monetary limit was upto Rs.15 lacs; and if the returned income is above Rs. 15 lacs it was the AC/DC. So, since the returned income by assessee an individual is above Rs.15 lakh, then the jurisdiction to assess the assessee lies only by AC/DC and not ITO. So, therefore, only the AC/DC had the jurisdiction to assess the assessee. It is settled law that serving of notice u/s. 143(2) of the Act is a sine qua non for an assessment to be made u/s. 143(3) of the Act. In this case, notice u/s. 143(2) of the Act was issued on 06.09.2013 by ITO, Ward-1, Haldia when he did not have the pecuniary jurisdiction to assume jurisdiction and issue notice. Admittedly, when the ITO realized that he did not had the pecuniary jurisdiction to issue notice he duly transferred the file to the ACIT, Circle-27, Haldia on 24.09. 2014 when the ACIT issued statutory notice which was beyond the time limit prescribed for issuance of notice u/s. 143(2) of the Act. We note that the ACIT by assuming the jurisdiction after the time prescribed for issuance of notice u/s. 143(2) of the Act notice became qoarum non judice after the limitation prescribed by the statute was crossed by him. Therefore, the issuance of notice by the ACIT, Circle-27, Haldia after the limitation period for issuance of statutory notice u/s. 143(2) of the Act has set in, goes to the root of the case and makes the notice bad in the eyes of law and consequential assessment order passed u/s. 143(3) of the Act is not valid in the eyes of law and, therefore, is null and void in the eyes of law. Therefore, the legal issue raised by the assessee is allowed. Since we have quashed the assessment and the appeal of assessee is allowed on the legal issue, the other grounds raised
by the assessee need not to be adjudicated because it is only academic. Therefore, the additional ground raised by the assessee is allowed.
7. In the result, appeal of assessee is allowed. 9.1. This Bench of the Tribunal in the case of Krishnendu Chowdhury vs. ITO reported in [2017] 78 taxmann.com 89 (Kolkata-Trib.) held as follows:- “Return of income of assessee was Rs. 12 lakhs - As per CBDT instruction, jurisdiction for scrutiny assessment vested in Income-tax Officer and notice under section 143(2) must be issued by Income-tax Officer, Ward-I, Haldia and none other - But, notice was issued by Asstt. Commissioner, Circle Haldia much after CBDT's instruction and knowing fully well that he had no jurisdiction over assessee - Whether, therefore, notice issued by Asstt. Commissioner was invalid and consequently assessment framed by Income-tax Officers becomes void since issue of notice under section 143(2) was not done by Income-tax Officers as specified in CBDT instruction No. 1/2011.” 9.2. The Hon’ble High Court of Calcutta in the case of West Bengal State Electricity Board vs. Deputy Commissioner of Income Tax, Special Range – I, reported in [2005] 278 ITR 218 (Cal.) has held as follows:-
“Section 254 of the Income-tax Act, 1961 - Appellate Tribunal - Powers of - Assessment years 1983-84 to 1987- 88 - Whether a question of law arising out of facts found by authorities and which went to root of jurisdiction can be raised for first time before Tribunal - Held, yes Whether jurisdiction of Assessing Authority is not dependent on date of accrual of cause of action but on date when it is initiated - Held, yes - Whether once a particular jurisdiction is created, same must be prospective and cannot be retrospective and it has to be interpreted having regard to manner in which it has been sought to be created - Held, yes – Assessee” 9.3. The Hon’ble Supreme Court in the case of CIT vs. Laxman Das Khandelwal [2019] 108 taxmann.com 183 (SC), held as follows:- “7. A closer look at Section 292BB shows that if the assessee has participated in the proceedings it shall be deemed that any notice which is required to be served upon was duly served and the assessee would be precluded from taking any objections that the notice was (a) not served upon him; or (b) not served upon him in time; or (c) served upon him in an improper manner. According to Mr. Mahabir Singh, learned Senior Advocate, since the Respondent had participated in the proceedings, the provisions of Section 292BB would be a complete answer. On the other hand, Mr. Ankit Vijaywargia, learned Advocate, appearing for the Respondent submitted that the notice under Section 143(2) of the Act was never issued which was evident from the orders passed on record as well as the stand taken by the Appellant in the memo of appeal. It was further submitted that issuance of notice under Section 143(2) of the Act being prerequisite, in the absence of such notice, the entire proceedings would be invalid.
8. The law on the point as regards applicability of the requirement of notice under Section 143(2) of the Act is quite clear from the decision in Hotel Blue Moon's case (supra). The issue that however needs to be considered is the impact of Section 292BB of the Act.
9. According to Section 292BB of the Act, if the assessee had participated in the proceedings, by way of legal fiction, notice would be deemed to be valid even if there be infractions as detailed in said Section. The scope of the provision is to make service of notice having certain infirmities to be proper and valid if there was requisite participation on part of the assessee. It is, however, to be noted that the Section does not save complete absence of notice. For Section 292BB to apply, the notice must have emanated from the department. It is only the infirmities in the manner of service of notice that the Section seeks to cure. The Section is not intended to cure complete absence of notice itself.”
10. Respectfully following the propositions of law laid down in all these case-law and applying the same to the facts of the case, we hold that the assessment order is bad in law for the reason that the Assessing Officer having jurisdiction over the assessee, has not issued a notice u/s 143(2) of the Act as required by the statute. Notice issue by the officer having no jurisdiction of the assessee is null and void. When a notice is issued by an officer having no jurisdiction, Section 292BB of the Act, does not comes into play. Coming to the argument of the ld. D/R that objection u/s 124(3) of the Act has to be taken by the assessee on rectifying notice u/s 143(2) of the Act from a non-jurisdictional assessing officer, I am of the view that I need not adjudicate this issue, as I have held that non-issual of statutory notice/s 143(2) of the Act by the jurisdictional Assessing Officer makes the assessment bad in law. Under these circumstances, we allow this appeal of the assessee.”
6. Respectfully following the propositions of law laid down in these orders stated above, we hold that the orders are bad in law for the reason that the assessing authority passed the order u/s 143(3) of the Act i.e. DCIT-13(1), Kolkata has not issued a notice u/s 143(2) of the Act and also for the reason that the jurisdiction of these cases lies with the ITO and not the DCIT. Hence all the orders passed by the ld. CIT(A) in these four cases are hereby quashed and the appeals of the assessees are allowed.”
8. In view of above discussion made and in the light of the various case laws, the assessment order passed by the Assessing Officer (DCIT) was bad in law for want of issuance of notice u/s 143(2) of the Act.”
The ld. Counsel for the assessee has further relied on the decision of the Coordinate ‘SMC’ Bench of the Tribunal in the case of Shivam Finance vs. ACIT in vide order dated 21.06.2023, wherein, the Coordinate Bench of the Tribunal relying on the decision of the jurisdictional Calcutta High Court in the case of PCIT vs. Shree Shoppers Ltd. (supra) has decided the identical issue in favour of the assessee. The relevant part of the order of the Coordinate Bench of the Tribunal in the case of Shivam Finance vs. ACIT (supra) is reproduced as under:
4. At the outset, Ld. Counsel for the assessee emphasized on the legal issue relating to jurisdiction assumed by Ld. ITO, ward-49(1), Kolkata for issuing the notice u/s. 143(2) dated 17.08.2018 for initiating the assessment proceedings. Copy of the said notice is placed on record in the paper book at pages 1 and 2. Ld. Counsel submitted that the issue is squarely covered by the recent judgment of Hon’ble jurisdictional High Court of Calcutta in the case of PCIT Vs. Shree Shoppers Ltd. in ITAT/39/2023 in IA No.GA/1/2023, dated 15.03.2023, wherein substantial questions of law before the Hon’ble Court were as under: “(i) whether on the facts and circumstances of the case the Tribunal was justified in law to quash the Assessing Order passed under section 143(3) of the said Act on the ground that the valid Notice under Section 143(2) was not issued in accordance with law despite the fact that said Notice was already issued by the jurisdictional Assessing Officer before the process of Restructuring Departmental Cadre ? ii) Whether on the facts and circumstances of the case the Tribunal was justified in law in not appreciating the fact that the Notice under Section 143(2) of the said Act is issued only once at the time of initiating of the scrutiny assessment, thereafter mere change of jurisdictional Assessing Officer within the same Range and/or Pr.CIT cannot affect the assessment proceedings?
On the above substantial questions of law, the Hon’ble Court held that Tribunal rightly allowed the assessee’s appeal and quashed the scrutiny proceedings as effect of non-issuance of notice is incurable since it goes to the root of the matter. The Hon’ble Court noted that “we find no ground to differ with the findings recorded by the Ld. Tribunal. In the result, the appeal filed by the revenue is dismissed and the substantial question of law are answered against the revenue.” 5.1. While giving this judgment, the Hon’ble Court noted the factual findings of the Tribunal which is reproduced as under: “The short issue which falls for consideration in the instant case is whether there is valid notice issued under Section 143 (2) of the Act for commencing the Scrutiny assessment. The Tribunal has noted the facts and rendered a finding that on the date when the case was selected for scrutiny, the authority who issued the notice namely, the Income Tax Officer, Ward No.9 (4), Kolkala did not have jurisdiction and the jurisdiction was with the Deputy Commissioner of Income Tax. The following factual finding has been recorded by the Tribunal : "Therefore, the legal ground stands to be admitted and the same re1ates to invalid notice issued u/ 143(2) of the Act. It is a settled position of law that for carrying out the assessment proceedings u/s. 143(3) of the Act, the statutory requirement of serving of valid notice u/s. 143(2) of the Act is must and in absence thereof the subsequent proceedings become invalid. In the case of assessee, the facts are that the assessee has declared income of Rs.48,47,180/- in the e-return filed on 26.09.2012. For selecting the case for scrutiny notice u/s. 143(2) of the Act as issued by ITA, Ward-9(4), Kolkata dated 23.09.2013. The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT vide Instruction No.1 /2011 supra) revised the monetary limit for issuing notice by ITO/DCs/ACs. Through this instruction it stated that in case of metro cities in case of corporate declare income above Rs.30 1akh the jurisdiction of such corporate assessee will lie with the DCs/ACs. It is not in dispute chat as on the date of selecting the case for scrutiny, the very basis for having jurisdiction over the assessee is the returned income which was more than Rs.30 1akhs and the same was lying with the DCs/Acs but the notice u/s. 143(2) of the Act has been issued by ITO, Ward- 9(4), Ko1kata. It is true that subsequently the assessment has been framed by DCIT, Circle-9(2), Kolkata but the point in dispute is that on date of issuing a notice u/s. 143(2) of the At, whether the ITO, ward-9(4), Kolkata was having a valid jurisdiction to issue such notice u/s. 143(2) of the Act.”
6. Ld. Counsel also placed on record the order of the Coordinate Bench of ITAT, Kolkata in the case of Shree Shoppers Ltd. Vs. DCIT in dated 08.09.2022 findings of which have been affirmed by the Hon’ble jurisdictional High Court of Calcutta as stated above.
7. Per contra, Ld. Sr. DR placed reliance on the order of Ld. AO.
We have heard the rival contentions and perused the material available on record and find that the issue raised by the Ld. Counsel on the jurisdictional aspect in respect of notice issued u/s. 143(2) is no longer res integra. It is a settled position of law that for carrying out an assessment proceedings u/s. 143(3) of the Act, statutory requirement of serving a valid notice u/s. 143(2) of the Act is a must and in absence of which the subsequent proceedings become invalid. In the present case before us, it is a fact that assessee has reported total income of Rs.43,53,620/- which exceeds the threshold prescribed in the CBDT Instruction no. 1/2011 read with revised monetary limit for issuing notice by ITO/DCs/ACs. Through this instruction, it stated that in case of metro cities, in case of corporate declared income above Rs. 30 lakh, the jurisdiction of such corporate assessee will lie with the DCs/ ACs. It is not in dispute that as on the date of selecting the case for scrutiny, the very basis for having jurisdiction over the assessee is the returned income which was more than Rs. 30 lakhs and the same was lying with the DCs/ACs but the notice u/s. 143(2) of the Act has been issued by ITO, Ward 49(1), Kolkata. It is true that subsequently the assessment has been framed by ACIT, Circ1e-49, Kolkata but the point in dispute is that on the date of issuing a notice u/s. 143(2) of the Act, whether the ITO, Ward-49(1), Kolkata was having a valid jurisdiction to issue such notice u/s. 143(2) of the Act. We find that Hon'ble jurisdictional High Court in the recent judgment in the case of PCIT Vs. Shree Shoppers Ltd. (supra) has decided identical issue in favour of the assessee.
Thus, from the perusal of the findings given by Hon’ble jurisdictional High Court and from the examination of facts of the present case, we find that the aforesaid judgment of the Hon’ble High Court is squarely applicable on the facts of the present case. We thus, unhesitatingly hold that ITO, Ward- 49(1), Kolkata had no valid jurisdiction over the assessee on the date of issuing notice u/s. 143(2) of the Act. Revenue has not controverted this fact by placing any other contrary material on record to indicate otherwise. Since a valid notice u/s. 143(2) has not been issued, the assessment proceedings carried thereafter deserves to be quashed. We, therefore, respectfully following the ratio laid down by Hon’ble jurisdictional High Court in the case of PCIT Vs. Shree Shoppers Ltd. (supra), allow ground no. 4 raised by the assessee and quash the assessment proceedings completed u/s. 143(3) of the Act. Since we have quashed the assessment proceedings, the grounds relating to the merits of the case are rendered mere academic in nature and are, therefore, not adjudicated upon. Accordingly, the appeal of the assessee is allowed.
In the result, appeal of the assessee is allowed.”
5. The ld. DR, however, while relying upon the decision of the Hon’ble Allahabad High Court in the case of ‘Shivaaditiya Jems and Jewellery Pvt. Ltd. vs. ITO’ reported in [2022] 143 taxmann.com 64 (Allahabad) has made the following submissions:
“1. All the seven points in the 'revised grounds of appeal' filed on 25/4/2024 is wholly concerned with the technical aspect of jurisdiction of the officer issuing the notice u/s 148, and is not on the merits of the case. The assessee had filed his return of income for Rs.17960490. The notice under section 148 dated 31/3/2021 was issued by ITO Ward 36(1) Kolkata, and the assessment was finally completed facelessly by NFAC Delhi. The assessees argument is since the ITO was not vested with the pecuniary jurisdiction of the assessee (given its income was Rs.1,79,60,490) the notice under section 148 initiating the assessment is bad in law which in turn vitiates the entire assessment dated 7/11/2023. It has been pointed out that as per CBDT instruction number 1/2011 dated 31/1/2011 the jurisdiction of the assessee fell under an ACIT not ITO, and the approval under section 151 of higher authority was thus being mechanical in nature.
It is respectfully submitted that as per section 253 of the IT. Act,1961, ITATs do not appear to have the power to adjudicate any dispute arising out of several provisions of Chapter-XIII including inter alia the provisions of sections 119, 120, 124, 127, 129 etc. Without prejudice to the above the defence of the department is confined to the technicalities of jurisdiction of assessment, as per grounds of appeal
taken by assessee.
3. This issue is covered in favour of the Revenue by the decisions of Hon'ble Allahabad High Court and Hon'ble Madaras High Court. In the case of Shivaaditiya Jems and Jewellery Pvt Ltd Vs ITO [2022] 143 taxmann.com 64 (Allahabad), the Allahabad High Court that Monetary limit fixed for assessment to be done by ACIT won’t preclude jurisdictional A.O to initiate reassessment. The Allahabad High Court held that the Board had issued a directed by Instruction No. 01 of 2011 dated 31-1- 2011 and 6 of 2011 dated 8-4-2011 for equitable distribution of works amongst the Assessing Officers. It Should be noted that as per section 124(1), A.O who has been vested with jurisdiction over any area, shall have jurisdiction within the limits of such area. Further, AO vested with jurisdiction by virtue of direction of sub-section (1) and (2) of section 120 shall have all powers conferred by or under the Act, 1961 on an AO in respect of the income accruing or arising or received within the area, if any, over which he has been vested with jurisdiction. The facts and legal position leave no manner of doubt that the AO had territorial Jurisdiction over the assessee. Objection to the jurisdiction had been raised merely on the ground that on account of pecuniary limit, the proceedings ought to have been initiated by ACIT. Merely because some pecuniary limit has been fixed for purpose of distribution of work between officers, it would not mean that there shall be an inherent lack of jurisdiction of A0. Thus, it cannot be said that AO ITO 36(1) Kolkata lacked inherent jurisdiction while issuing the impugned notice under section 148.
4. The Hon'ble Justice of Madras High Court T S Sivagnanam, while deciding WPs No. 5792 & 5793 of 2013 in the case of C Krishnan Vs ITO Erode & Others held that "the monetary limit fixed in the instruction dated 31.01.2011, was not a rigid limit" and the purpose for giving such discretion is to ensure that the workload is equitably distributed among the Assessing Officers.
5. Another issue that may arise in this case is on the completion of assessment by a different assessing officer. In this case it was NaFAC. As per the E-assessment scheme first notified by the Govt. in 2019 and modified thereafter from time to time, the National e-assessment Centre was empowered to conduct e-assessment proceedings in a centralised manner and also vested with the jurisdiction to make assessment in accordance with the provisions of the said Scheme. Therefore, if any pending assessment proceedings was transferred to NaFAC in accordance with the said scheme and completed in a faceless manner, it has to be valid assessment. The appeal of the assessee therefore may be dismissed and the order of the CIT(A) and the A.O may be upheld.”
6. We note that the issue is squarely covered by various decisions of the Jurisdictional Calcutta High Court and we are bound to follow the same. Moreover, as held by the Hon’ble Supreme Court in the case of ‘ACIT vs. Hotel Blue Moon’ reported in 321 ITR 362 (SC) that the issue of notice u/s 143(2) is sine qua non to assume jurisdiction to proceed with the assessment in a case. Similarly, in our view, in the case of the reopening of the assessment u/s 147 of the Act, the issue of notice u/s 148 of the Act by the Assessing Officer having jurisdiction is also sine qua non. If the said notices had been issued by the Assessing Officer who did not have the jurisdiction over the assessee, then such notices are to be treated as non-est. The assessment carried out in such cases will be bad in law. Reliance in this respect can be placed on the decision of Hon’ble Bombay High Court in the case of ‘Ashok Devichand Jain vs. Union of India and Others’ reported in 452 ITR 43 dated 08.03.2022, wherein, in para 5 of the order, the Hon’ble Bombay High Court has held as under:
“5. The notice under section 148 of the Act is jurisdictional notice and any inherent defect therein is not curable. In the facts of the case, notice having been issued by an officer who had no jurisdiction over the Petitioner, such notice in our view, has not been issued validly and is issued without authority of law.” 6.1 Reliance in this respect can also be placed on the decision of Jurisdictional Calcutta High Court in the case of ‘PCIT vs. Nopany & Sons’ reported in [2022] 136 taxmann.com 414 (Calcutta) and in the case of ‘PCIT vs. Cosmat Traders (P) Ltd.’ reported in [2023] 146 taxmann.com 207 (Calcutta). Therefore, respectfully following the proposition of law laid down by the Hon’ble Bombay High Court in the case of ‘Ashok Devichand Jain vs. Union of India and Others’ (supra) and the jurisdictional Hon’ble Calcutta High Court in the cases of ‘PCIT vs. Shree Shoppers Ltd.’ (supra), ‘PCIT vs. Nopany & Sons’ (supra) & ‘PCIT vs. Cosmat Traders (P) Ltd.’ (supra) and by the various Benches of the Tribunal as discussed above, the issue is accordingly decided in favour of the assessee and the assessment framed u/s 143(3) r.w.s. 147 of the Act, in this case, is held to be bad in law and the same is accordingly quashed.
7. Since the assessment order has been quashed on the ground of jurisdiction, the other issues raised on merit have been rendered academic in nature.
8. In the result, the appeal of the assessee stands allowed.
Kolkata, the 12th September, 2024.