2009 (1) TMI 75 - HC - Income Tax

Pursuant to notice issued u/s 148, the assessment u/s 143 was completed Tribunal set aside the assessment order on the ground that the notice issued u/s 148, was defective inasmuch as the notice did not disclose the status of assessee since AO cured the defect and passed a fresh assessment order which was the subject matter of appeal before the tribunal, appeal to HC is infructuous - precious court time should not be wasted for determining the academic issues

Summary

The High Court of PUNJAB AND HARYANA ruled on a case involving the return of income filed by the respondent-assessee for the assessment year 1994-95. The court found that the notice issued to the respondent-assessee under section 148 of the Income-tax Act was defective, leading to the acceptance of the appeal by the Income-tax Appellate Tribunal. The Tribunal concluded that the notice was a jurisdictional flaw, rendering the assessment proceedings null and void. The Revenue challenged the Tribunal's decision, arguing that the omission of status on the notice did not invalidate the assessment proceedings. However, the court found that the defect had been cured by the Assessing Officer through the issuance of a fresh notice under section 148. Consequently, the court declined to entertain the appeal, stating that the matter was of academic interest only, as a new assessment order had been issued and was pending before the Income-tax Appellate Tribunal. The court concluded that the appeal was rendered infructuous after the Revenue complied with the Tribunal's order.