Veena Devi Karnani v. ITO (2019) 410 ITR 23 (Delhi) (HC)

S. 147 : Reassessment—Notice sent to old address-Duty of Assessing Officer to access changed Permanent Account Number database of assessee—Return filed showing new address- Reassessment is held to be bad in law. [S. 144, 148, R. 127]

Allowing the petition, the Court held that,  rule 127(2) states that the addresses to which a notice or summons or requisition or order or any other communication may be delivered or transmitted shall be either available in the permanent account number database of the assessee or the address available in the Income-tax return to which the communication relates or the address available in the last Income-tax return filed by the assessee : all these options have to be resorted to by the concerned authority, in this case the Assessing Officer. On facts the Assessing Officer had omitted to access the changed permanent account database and had mechanically sent notices to the old address of the assessee. The subsequent notices under section 142(1) were also sent to the old address and the reassessment proceedings were completed on best judgment basis. The Assessing Officer had mechanically proceeded on the information supplied to him by the bank without following the correct procedure in law and had failed to ensure that the reassessment notice was issued properly and served at the correct address in the manner known to law. The reassessment notice issued under section 148 , the subsequent order under section 144 read with section 147 and the consequential action of attachment of the assessee’s bank accounts were quashed. ( AY. 2010-11)