- (1.) This is an appeal filed by the Revenue, raising following substantial questions of law, arising out of order passed by the Income-tax Appellate Tribunal, Chandigarh Bench 'A' (for short 'the Tribunal') in ITA No. 94/Chd/2004, dt. 9th Aug., 2005, for the asst. yr. 1999-2000, for opinion of this Court: 1. Whether, on the facts and circumstances of the case, the Hon'ble Tribunal is justified in cancelling the assessment made under Section 147 of IT Act by holding that the proviso to Section 143(2) is equally applicable to the proceedings for reassessment?
(2.) Whether the proviso to Sub-clause (ii) of Section 143(2) of the IT Act, 1961 which requires the service of notice within 12 months from the end of the month in which the return is filed, also applied to the returns filed pursuant to notice under Section 148 of IT Act? If yes, whether Section 292B of IT Act, 1961 have any function if the notice under Section 143(2) is not issued within 12 months of the filing of return for assessment proceedings under Section 143(3) or reassessment proceedings under Section 147? 2. The appeal of the Revenue has been dismissed on the ground that the notice issued to the assessee under Section 143(2) of the IT Act, 1961 (for short 'the Act'), in the proceedings initiated under Section 147 of the Act, was barred by time. Without going into much details, it would be suffice to say that the alleged technical defects on account of which, the assessment framed under Section 147/148 of the Act was set aside, has been cured by an amendment in Section 148 of the Act by Finance Act, 2006 with retrospective effect from 1st Oct., 1991, wherein a new proviso has been added which is as under: (a) where a return has been furnished during the period commencing on the 1st day of October, 1991 and ending on the 30th day of September, 2005 in response to a notice served under this section, and (b) subsequently a notice has been served under Sub-section (2) of Section 143 after the expiry of twelve months specified in the proviso to Sub-section (2) of Section 143, as it stood immediately before the amendment of said Sub-section by the Finance Act, 2002 (20 of 2002) but before the expiry of the time-limit for making the assessment, reassessment or recomputation as specified in Subsection (2) of Section 153, every such notice referred to in this clause shall be deemed to be a valid notice: Provided further that in a case- (a) where a return has been furnished during the period commencing on the 1st day of October, 1991 and ending on the 30th day of September, 2005, in response to a notice served under this section, and (b) subsequently a notice has been served under Clause (ii) of Subsection (2) of Section 143 after the expiry of twelve months specified in the proviso to Clause (ii) of Sub-section (2) of Section 143, but before the expiry of the time-limit for making the assessment, reassessment or recomputation as specified in Sub-section (2) of Section 153, every such notice referred to in this clause shall be deemed to be a valid notice.
(3.) We have perused the above referred amendment, which is squarely applicable to the facts in the present case. Even though counsel for the assessee made strenuous efforts to support the order passed by the Tribunal but could not possibly controvert the factum of amendment having cured the technical defects for which the orders were set aside by the Tribunal.;