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TMI Blog1989 (4) TMI 112X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... s completed on 12-9-1979 under section 143(3) of the Act. By a notice dated 23-3-1981, under section 148, the Income-tax Officer reopened this assessment on the ground that he had reason to believe that income chargeable to tax had escaped assessment within the meaning of section 147 of the Act. He accordingly in pursuance of the said notice, initiated the reassessment proceedings and passed the impugned assessment order under section 143(3) read with section 147(b) of the Act. 3. On appeal, the Commissioner of Income-tax (Appeals) upheld the passing of the reassessment order on the ground that the reopening of the assessment under section 147(b) of the Act was justified in view of the Tribunal's order dated 24-2-1981 for the Assessment y ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ancelled. Mr. Dastur further relied upon the decision of the Supreme Court in Union of India v. Rai Singh Deb Singh Bist [1973] 88 ITR 200 and another decision of the Supreme Court in Johri Lal (HUF) v. CIT [1973] 88 ITR 439, for the proposition that the recording of reasons was an important condition to find out whether the Income-tax Officer had jurisdiction to proceed under section 147. 6. The learned Departmental Representative, in reply, argued that no doubt the notice under section 148 was dated 23-3-1981, but the same bore the seal of despatch as on 24-3-1981 and the same was posted on 25-3-1981 as seen from the postal notation on the acknowledgement slip and served upon the assessee on 26-3-1981 as shown by the same slip. He, ther ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... n u/s 147(b). Office Please issue, Notice u/s 148. " 8. The provisions of section 148(2) read as follows : " 148(1) .......................... (2) The Income-tax Officer shall, before issuing any notice under this section, record his reasons for doing so. " As is evident on a plain reading of the section, it is mandatory upon the Income-tax Officer to record his reasons before he issues a notice under section 148. The recording of reasons before the issue of such a notice is thus a mandatory requirement/to be fulfilled before issue of the notice by the Income-tax Officer. Once it is established that this requirement/condition remained unfulfilled, the section stood infringed resulting in the notice issued being invalid. 9. Dealing ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... here were no reasons which stood recorded such reasons having been recorded only on 24-3-1981, the position is that the case boils down to there being no recorded reasons existing for the belief of escapement of income found by the Income-tax Officer before the issue of notice under section 148. Where no recorded reasons exist prior to the issue of notice the assumption of jurisdiction for reopening is void and the decision of the Supreme Court in Johri Lal (HUF)'s case fully supports this view. 10. We, therefore, accordingly hold that since the requirements of section 148(2) were not satisfied prior to the issue of the notice dated 23-3-1981 by the Income-tax Officer; the reassessment order dated 20-9-1982 is invalid and void ab initio. ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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