Income-tax and Law : AO's Draft Assessment Orders Held to be Invalid and Without Jurisdiction

Income-tax and Law : AO's Draft Assessment Orders Held to be Invalid and Without Jurisdiction

It has been held that the requirement of issuance of notice u/s. 16(2) of the Wealth Tax Act, which is akin to section 143(2) of the Income-tax Act, 1961 is mandatory in a case of reopening of assessment to assess escaped wealth. 

Issuance of notice u/s.143(2) of the Income-tax Act, 1961 is mandatory in case of reopening of assessment u/s. 147 of the Income-tax Act, 1961 or for that matter, section 158BC of the Act or any other reassessment proceedings.

Accordingly so-called draft assessment orders passed by the AO were held to be invalid and without jurisdiction. 

Case reference is Global Cricket Corporation Pte. Ltd v ADIT [2026] GCtR 406 (ITAT, Mumbai)