2009 (8) TMI 833 - HC - Income Tax

Reassessment proceedings Notice under section 148 sent to old address instead of new address - assessee had sold and disposed of the old premises - Return for the assessment year 2003-04 was also filed before the issue of the aforesaid notice, showing the new address Held that - it may be a case of bona fide mistake on the part of the Assessing Officer. However, a valuable right accrued to the respondent and, furthermore, when we find that the tax effect is only Rs. 4,13,210 (as per the CBDT circular, appeals with tax effect up to Rs. 4 lakhs are not to be filed). - Decided in favor of assessee.

Summary

Issues: Validity of notice under section 148 of the Income-tax Act, 1961

1. Validity of notice under section 148:
The judgment revolves around the validity of a notice issued by the Assessing Officer under section 148 of the Income-tax Act, 1961. The notice was sent to the old address of the assessee, despite the assessee having shifted to a new address and filed the return for the assessment year 2003-04 with the new address. The Commissioner of Income-tax (Appeals) held that there was no valid service of notice under section 148, which rendered the reassessment proceedings null and void. The Income-tax Appellate Tribunal concurred with this view, emphasizing that the notice was not properly addressed, as it was sent to the old address, and the new address had already been intimated to the Department through the filed return. The Tribunal highlighted the jurisdictional importance of valid service of notice for reassessment, stating that the Act does not require formal intimation of address change but expects the Assessing Officer to verify any address changes before issuing notices.

2. Contentions and Arguments:
The counsel for the Revenue argued that although the new address was provided in the return filed for the assessment year 2003-04, the old address was also mentioned in the annexure showing the computation of assessable income. The assessee explained that the old premises had been sold and possession transferred to a new owner, substantiated by an affidavit and a sale deed. The court considered the possibility of a bona fide mistake on the part of the Assessing Officer but noted that the respondent had acquired a valuable right. Despite the potential error, the court observed that the tax effect was minimal, falling below the threshold specified in a circular by the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT), which stated that appeals with tax effects up to a certain limit need not be filed.

3. Judgment:
After deliberating on the arguments and reviewing the documents, the court concluded that the findings regarding the invalidity of the notice under section 148 need not be interfered with in the current appeal. Consequently, the appeal was dismissed based on the considerations of the minimal tax effect and the rights accrued to the respondent.