- (1.) This group of appeals under Section 260A of the Income Tax Act (hereinafter referred to as the Act) relates to the reassessment proceedings for the assessment year 2006-07, 2007-08, 2008-09, 2009-10, 2010-11 and 2011-12. The dispute in all these assessment years is common and are, accordingly, being decided together. For facility , the facts of assessment year 2007-08 is being taken into consideration.
(2.) Proceedings under Sections 147, 148 of the Act was initiated after obtaining approval from the Joint Commissioner of Income Tax under Section 151 (2) of the Act, pursuant to which notice under Section 148 of the Act was issued. Upon receipt of the notice under Section 148 of the Act, a return of income was filed declaring an income of Rs.1,04,30,38,635/-, which was claimed as exempted under Section 10(20) of the Act. The Assessing Officer after considering the matter, passed an assessment order holding that the assessee was not a local authority as per Section 10(20) of the Act and added the surplus income and expenditure of the account and few other amounts on the total income. Aggrieved by the order of the Assessing Officer, the assessee filed an appeal before the Commissioner of Income Tax (Appeals), who dismissed the appeal and affirmed the order of the assessing authority holding that the exemption claimed by the assessee under Section 10(20) was not tenable as it was not a local authority within the meaning of Section 10(20) of the Act.
(3.) The assessee, being aggrieved, filed a second appeal before the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal on various grounds. However, at the time of consideration of appeal only ground no.5 was attacked namely: "That the order of Ld. AO is void ab initio in as much as, no mandatory notice u/s 143(2) of IT Act, 1961 was issued at any stage of the assessment proceedings.";