The Income-tax Appellate Tribunal has the power to permit a party to raise the question of jurisdiction for the first time before it, and is under a statutory obligation to decide such plea after providing sufficient opportunity of being heard to the other side.

( 1 ) THIS is an application under Section 256 (2) of the Income-tax Act, 1961, filed at the instance of the Revenue. Two questions have been proposed in this application. The controversy raised revolves around the question whether the Income-tax Appellate Tribunal, in law, could permit the assessee to raise the plea of jurisdiction for the first time before it which was not raised earlier either before the Assessing Officer or before the first appellate authority.

( 2 ) HAVING heard learned counsel for the parties, we are not satisfied that any statable question of law arises in this case. The power of the Tribunal to permit any party to the appeal to raise the question of jurisdiction, which goes to the root of the matter and does not involve further investigation into facts, cannot be disputed on the plain reading of Rule 11 of the Income-tax (Appellate Tribunal) Rules, 1963. Indeed, on such a plea being taken, the Tribunal is under a statutory obligation not only to entertain the plea but also to decide the same after providing sufficient opportunity of being heard to the other side. There is nothing in the instant case to show that the Tribunal had not provided sufficient opportunity to the Revenue before it allowed the assessee to raise the plea of validity of reassessment proceedings based on the notice under section 148 of the Act being without jurisdiction. By the two questions proposed in this application, the findings recorded by the Income-tax Appellate Tribunal on merits have not been challenged, the answer to the question being self-evident. In our opinion, no statable question of law arises on which the Tribunal should be required to submit a statement of the case to this court.

( 3 ) IN view of the above, this application is without any merit and is, accordingly, rejected. The assessee shall be entitled to its costs which we assess at Rs. 125.

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