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INCOME TAX APPELLATE TRIBUNAL (DELHI BENCH)
M. Balaganesh, AM
DCIT CENTRAL CIRCLE GHAZIABAD – Appellant
Versus
SHUBH ARYAMAN ISPAT GHAZIABAD – Respondent
MA 147/Del/2024 (In ITA No. 2903/Del/2022)
For the Appellants/Petitioners:
For the Respondents: ld DR
An assessment order lacking a DIN is void ab initio, as per the mandatory requirements of the CBDT Circular, and cannot be validated by separate communications.
Headnote:(A) Income Tax Act, 1961 - CBDT Circular No. 19/2019 dated 14.08.2019 - Assessment order declared void for non-compliance with procedural requirements regarding the issuance of DIN - The Tribunal reiterated that failure to mention DIN in the assessment order renders it null and void, as established in prior rulings. (Paras 1, 2, 3, and 11)
(B) Procedural Compliance - The requirement to generate and mention DIN in assessment orders is mandatory, and failure to do so compromises the validity of the order. (Paras 2 and 3)
Facts of the case:
The revenue's application sought to recall a previous order declaring an assessment order void ab initio due to the absence of DIN. The revenue argued that a separate communication mentioning DIN was sufficient.
Findings of Court:
The Tribunal found that the assessment order was invalid as it did not meet the requirements of the CBDT Circular, and the mere mention of DIN in a separate letter could not rectify the deficiency.
Issues: The core issue was whether mentioning DIN in a separate communication suffices to validate an assessment order lacking DIN.
Ratio Decidendi: The Tribunal held that an assessment order must comply with the mandatory requirements of the CBDT Circular, and failure to do so results in the order being deemed invalid.
Result: Miscellaneous application dismissed.
| Table of Content |
|---|
| 1. assessment order declared void for non-compliance. (Para 1) |
| 2. revenue argues din mentioned in separate communication. (Para 2) |
| 3. court clarifies din requirement and its implications. (Para 3) |
| 4. miscellaneous application dismissed for lack of merit. (Para 4) |
ORDER
PER M. BALAGANESH, A. M.:
1. By virtue of this miscellaneous application, the revenue seeks to recall the order passed by this Tribunal in ITA NO. 2903/Del/2022 dated 01.12.2023 wherein, assessment order was declared as void ab initio for non-mentioning of DIN thereby violating the CBDT Circular No. 19/2019 dated 14.08.2019.
2. We have heard the rival submissions and perused the material available on record. The revenue had sought to state in its miscellaneous application in para (f) that though the DIN was not mentioned in the body of the assessment order, a separate communication was sent to the assessee on 24.12.2021 in the form of attachment wherein, DIN was duly mentioned. Hence, the ld DR argued that it cannot be considered as DIN not being mentioned in the assessment order.
3. In our considered opinion, the DIN mentioned in covering letter is apparently meant for the covering letter and not for the assessment order. The CBDT Circular No. 19/2019 dated 14.08.2019 specifically states that any communication in the form of notice, letter, correspondence, emanating from the Income Tax Department to the assessee shall contain DIN and if such DIN is not mentioned, such communication in the form of notice, order, letter, correspondence shall have to be treated as non-est , null and void. Hence, the DIN stated to be mentioned in the covering letter of the assessment order is only for the covering letter and not for the assessment order. This issue was also subject matter of adjudication of the coordinate bench decision of this Tribunal in the case of DCIT Vs. Pratap Singh Yadav in MA 401/Del/2022 dated 27.03.2025 wherein, it was held as under:-
“By way of this rectification application, the Revenue under Section 254(2) of the Income-tax Act, 1961 (hereinafter referred to as ’the Act’) has contended that the assessment order was passed on 24.12.2021 and the same was communicated to the assessee through common function on ITBA Module along with DIN bearing no. ITBA/COM/F/17/2021-22/1038318742(1) on 31.12.2021. It was argued that as such, the service of order is not violating the terms and conditions of CBDT Circular No.19/2019 dated 14.08.2019 and finding recorded by the ITAT that the assessment order was passed on 24.12.2021 and was communicated by the Assessing Officer without generating the DIN of the assessment order, which is factually incorrect. The assessment order, demand notice and computation sheet were communicated to the assessee by a letter generated from common function of ITBA module, which was having DIN no. as stated above.
2. We noted that the Tribunal has noted the factual aspect in paragraph 11 as under "11. A perusal of the impugned assessment order makes it dear that in the body of the assessment order the Assessing Officer has neither recorded the reasons for issuing the assessment order manually without DIN nor the date and number of approval of the Chief Commissioner/Director General of Income-tax. The subsequent communication dated 03.02.2022 issued by the Assessing Officer generating DIN of the assessment order cannot make good the deficiency in the assessment order issued without generating DIN, as, the Assessing Officer has failed to adhere to the conditions of paragraph No. 3 of the extant Circular, wherein, it has been specifically mandated that in a case where the Assessing Officer has to issue the communication manually without generating DIN with the prior approval of the CCIT/DGIT, not only he has to record the reasons for doing so in the file, but, he also has to incorporate in the body of such communication the reasons and number and date of approval by the CCIT/DGIT in the specified format, in the facts of the present app
