Madras HC Quashes TVS Reassessment Notice – JAO Has No Jurisdiction, Only Faceless AO Can Issue 148A Notices, Holds Court
The Madras High Court, in the case of TVS Credit Services Limited, quashed the reassessment notice issued under Section 148A(d) for AY 2017–18. The impugned notice dated 01.05.2024 was issued by the Jurisdictional Assessing Officer (JAO) instead of the Faceless Assessment Officer (FAO). The Division Bench held that it is mandatory for the FAO to issue such notices under the Faceless Assessment Scheme. The Court followed the judgment of Hexaware Technologies Ltd. v. ACIT [2024] 162 taxmann.com 225 (Bombay). The said Hexaware judgment was authored by the current Chief Justice of the Madras High Court. It was noted that there was a divergence of opinion between two Single Judges, which was resolved by the Division Bench. The Additional Solicitor-General submitted that the Revenue has filed an SLP before the Supreme Court against Hexaware. However, he fairly admitted that there is no stay on the judgment of Hexaware Technologies Ltd. Therefore, following binding precedent, all impugned notices in the batch petitions were quashed and set aside. The Court granted liberty to the Revenue to seek revival of the petitions in case the Supreme Court reverses Hexaware.
The copy of the order is as under:
