ITO v. Prakash Pandurang Patil · Supreme Court on §148/§151A: JAO reopening without the faceless route is invalid
Can the Jurisdictional AO issue a §148 notice without following the faceless mechanism?
No. A §148 reopening issued by the JAO without the §151A faceless mechanism is unsustainable; the Supreme Court dismissed the Department's SLP.
Facts in brief
- A reopening notice under §148 for AY 2018-19 was issued by the Jurisdictional Assessing Officer directly.
- The mandatory faceless mechanism prescribed under §151A, read with the 2022 Scheme, was not followed.
Issue before the bench
Whether a §148 notice issued by the JAO, bypassing the §151A faceless route, survives.
Held
The Bombay High Court held that §151A mandates the faceless route for §148 notices; proceedings initiated by the JAO were unsustainable and invalid.
The Supreme Court dismissed the Department's SLP against that order.
Practitioner takeaway
Test the jurisdictional point before the merits: every JAO-issued reopening after the 2022 Scheme is open to a threshold challenge.
Record in the reply whether the notice came from the JAO or through NFAC; the issuing authority is now a ground in itself.
More on this topic: Section 148 & 148A: Reassessment case law · Need this drafted? Reassessment & Section 148 Support for CA Firms