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Issues involved:
The judgment involves issues related to the validity of assessment under section 147, jurisdictional aspects of completing assessment under section 143(3) without issuing notice under section 143(2), computation of long term and short term capital gains under section 45(2) of the Act, and liability to interest under section 234B of the Act. Validity of Assessment under Section 147: The appellant challenged the assessment under section 147 as being void-ab-initio due to lack of jurisdiction under section 148. The first appellate authority dismissed the objection citing the appellant's participation in assessment proceedings. The appellant contended that the omission to issue notice under section 143(2) is not curable, citing relevant case laws. The Tribunal held that the burden of proof regarding the notice under section 143(2) lies with the revenue, and since no evidence was presented, the reassessment without the notice is invalid. Jurisdictional Aspect of Completing Assessment under Section 143(3) without Notice under Section 143(2): The appellant argued that the reassessment under section 143(3) was completed without issuing the mandatory notice under section 143(2), rendering the order invalid. The Tribunal noted that the appellant had raised this objection before the first appellate authority as well. Citing relevant case laws, including a Special Bench order, the Tribunal held that the absence of notice under section 143(2) is a fatal flaw in the reassessment process. The Tribunal emphasized that the provisions of section 292BB are not retrospective and do not apply to this case. Computation of Capital Gains under Section 45(2) of the Act: The authorities assessed long term and short term capital gains under section 45(2) by considering stock-in-trade received by the appellant on partition as capital assets converted into stock in trade. The appellant contended that the computation was excessive and should be reduced. However, since the jurisdictional issue was decided in favor of the appellant, the Tribunal did not adjudicate on the merits of this computation. Liability to Interest under Section 234B of the Act: The appellant denied liability to be charged interest under section 234B and reserved the right to seek waiver. The Tribunal, after setting aside the assessment due to jurisdictional issues, did not delve into this aspect. Conclusion: The Tribunal partly allowed the appeal filed by the appellant, primarily on the grounds of jurisdictional defects in the assessment process. The assessment under section 147 was deemed invalid due to the absence of a notice under section 143(2), as per relevant legal precedents. The other grounds raised by the appellant were not addressed due to the decision on the jurisdictional issue.
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