Despite being duly informed of the amalgamation pursuant to which the amalgamating company had ceased to exist, the Transfer Pricing Officer passed the order in the name of the erstwhile entity and later sought to cure the defect by invoking section 154, which is confined to inadvertent or typographical errors. The Assessing Officer thereafter framed the draft and final assessment orders in the name of the non-existent entity, describing the assessee as “formerly known as”, thereby treating the amalgamation as a mere name change rather than a fundamental alteration in legal identity. The Tribunal held that the assessment was void ab initio and time-barred, the defect being substantive and not procedural, and incapable of being cured under section 292B. On appeal, the High Court affirmed that, absent any intent to assess the amalgamated entity, the assessment order against a non-existent entity was a nullity and the appeal of the Revenue was dismissed. (AY.2015-16)