9911796707
TMI Blog2003 (4) TMI 257X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... e of the assessee was that the assessee was served with a notice under section 143(2) of the Act on 16-11-2000. The learned Departmental Representative Mr. R. Venkataraman, who had the records with him, examined the records and submitted that the notice under section 139(2) was issued to the assessee some time 16th October, 1999. The plea of the learned counsel Mr. Kannan was that section 148 clearly states that a return filed in pursuance to notice under section 148 for all purposes of the Act shall apply as if such a return were a return required to be furnished under section 139. He submitted that the return would therefore be treated as one filed under section 139. He made a reference to the provisions of section 143(2) of the Act and s ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ench of the Tribunal in Chandra Bhan Bansal v. Dy. CIT [2001] 79 ITD 639. He insisted that in this case the Tribunal had held clearly that the time limit prescribed in section 143(2) for issue of notice is not applicable to a return filed in response to notice under section 148. He heavily insisted that this decision squarely applies to the facts of the instant case. He also relied upon the decision of Rajasthan High Court in Swnerpur Truck Operators Union v. ITO [2002] 176 CTR (Raj.) 297. He also relied upon the decision of the Madras High Court in Smt. Indira Devi v. CIT [1994] 210 ITR 537. 3. Rival contentions in regard to the above have been very carefully considered. The present assessment year is 1996-97. Section 153(2) of the Act pr ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... n other provisions as well. Section 139A prescribes a person to apply for Permanent Account Number. Section 140 prescribes the person who could sign the return so that the return could be treated as valid return. Section 140A talks of payment of self-assessment tax. Section 142 prescribes enquiry before assessment. Section 143 prescribes the assessment. It has section 143(1) of the Act which permits the Assessing Officer to frame the assessment on the basis of information available on his records. Section 143(2) of the Act talks a situation where return has been filed under section 139 or in response to a notice calling for filing of return under section 142 in which the Assessing Officer feels it necessary or expedient making sure that the ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... notice. This section is followed by other provisions like sanction for issue of notice. Section 153 prescribes the time limit as has been reproduced earlier in regard to framing of assessment under various circumstances, which are all mandatory and binding on the administrators of the Act. This is followed by rectification of mistakes and other features. 5. As has been brought out above, the procedure for framing assessment is preceded by filing of return followed by the Assessing Officer feeling the necessity to call the assessee to make sure that the assessee has not understated the income or has not claimed excessive loss or has not paid the tax and so on, should serve on the assessee a notice, which notice shall have to be necessarily ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... s framed under section 143(3) of the Act read with section 147 or 148. Likewise, an ex parte assessment framed it would be stated that section 144 read with section 147 or 148. In the case of assessment framed on the basis of return filed, it could be either under section 143(3) or 144 or 143(1), i.e., not requiring the presence of the assessee. 7. The above only goes to show that there are various circumstances in which the assessee is required to file return of income, some of which could be based on reassessment notice or notice calling upon the assessee to file a return. However, the framing of the assessment is prescribed under section 153, i.e., the outer time limit available for framing of the assessment. In order that an assessment ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ction 143 and that it is a mandatory prescription, failing to follow such prescription will lead to invalidation of the assessment framed. 8. Coming to the order of the Agra Bench of the Tribunal, to which our attention was drawn, the learned Members apparently were of the opinion "the provisions of section 143(2) make it amply clear that proviso to section 143(2) does not include a return filed in response to notice under section 148". The reading of section 143(2) of the Act goes to show that it does not state anywhere that the procedure prescribed under section 143 for framing of assessment is limited to returns that are filed under section 139 and such other features as may be called upon with reference to proviso to section 142(1) of ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
|
