Date of dispatch of notice as per ITBA portal and date of email may not be same – ITAT

Date of dispatch of notice as per ITBA portal and date of communication by email may not necessarily be the same – ITAT quashed notice 148A

In a recent judgment, ITAT Hyderabad quashed notice under section 148A as invalid holding that date of dispatch of notice as per the ITBA portal not determinative as the date of communication of notice through email may not necessarily be the same.

ABCAUS Case Law Citation:
4981 (2026) (01) abcaus.in ITAT

In the instant case, the assessee had challenged the order passed by the Commissioner of Income Tax (Appeals), National Faceless Appeal Centre (NFAC).

The case of the assessee was since the notice u/s 148 of the old law having been issued on 01.04.2021, the entire assessment proceedings consequent to such notice were bad in law in the light of the decision of the Apex Court in the Ashish Agarwal.

Before the Tribunal the assessee submitted that by the Finance Act, 2021, the entire scheme of reassessment was substituted with effect from 01.04.2021, and from that date onwards, the AO was mandatorily required to follow the procedure prescribed under section 148A of the Act prior to issuance of a notice under section 148.

It was contended that no procedure as prescribed under section 148A of the Act was followed before issuing the notice under section 148 of the Act. Therefore, the notice issued under section 148 of the Act was invalid in law and the assessment framed pursuant thereto was liable to be quashed. In support of the above submissions, reliance was placed on the judgment of the Hon’ble Telangana High Court.

On the other hand the Income Tax Department relied on the screenshot of the Income-tax portal and submitted that the notice under section 148 of the Act had been dispatched through the Income-tax portal on 31.03.2021. It was contended that although the email communicating the notice reflects the date and time of sending as 01.04.2021 at 03:53:49 AM, the notice had already been generated and dispatched on the portal on 31.03.2021.

It was further submitted that due to heavy congestion and technical issues in the electronic network, the email communication of the notice could have been delivered to the assessee only on 01.04.2021. However, for all practical purposes, the notice ought to be treated as issued on 31.03.2021, and therefore, the reassessment proceedings would be governed by the law as it stood prior to 01.04.2021. On this basis, it was contended that the notice issued under section 148 of the Act cannot be held to be invalid.

The Tribunal declined to accept the contention of the Revenue.  The Tribunal noted that a perusal of the e-mail communication by the revenue would show that the time of sending of the email was clearly mentioned as 03:53:49 AM on 01.04.2021, and the time of delivery was mentioned as 03:53:52 AM on 01.04.2021.

The Tribunal opined that this electronic trail constituted a contemporaneous record of the actual communication of the notice to the assessee. The Tribunal further observed that the precise argument advanced by the Revenue, that mere generation or dispatch of the notice on the Income-tax portal on 31.03.2021 should be treated as issuance, notwithstanding its communication on 01.04.2021, had been categorically examined and rejected by the Hon’ble Telangana High Court.

The Tribunal further observed that after analysing the entire law relating to issuance of notice under section 148 of the Act, and relying upon the judgment of the Hon’ble Delhi High Court, the Hon’ble Telangana High Court had held that the date and time mentioned in the email by which the notice is communicated to the assessee shall be treated as the date of issuance of the notice for the purposes of section 148 of the Act. The Hon’ble High Court had further held that mere uploading or generation of the notice on the Income-tax portal does not amount to “issuance” unless the same is actually communicated to the assessee, and that the electronic evidence reflecting the date and time of email communication is determinative for this purpose.

Following the said binding precedent, the Tribunal held that notwithstanding the Revenue’s contention that the notice may have been generated or dispatched on the portal on 31.03.2021, the notice under section 148, for the purposes of the Act, must be treated as having been issued on 01.04.2021, being the date and time reflected in the email communication sent to the assessee.

Accordingly, the Tribunal held that the notice issued under section 148 of the Act was void ab initio, and the assessment framed on the basis of such invalid notice cannot be sustained.

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