ORDER

PER SUDHIR KUMAR, JM:

This appeal by the Assessee against the order dated 25.3.2025 of the National Faceless Appeal Centre (NFAC), Delhi. Assessment was framed by the ITO, Ward 4(1), Gurgaon for the assessment year 2013-14 u/s. 144 r.w.s. 147 of the Income Tax Act, 1961 (hereinafter referred to as “the Act”) vide order dated 27.3.2022.

The assessee filed the application to admit the following additional grounds of appeal:-

1. That on facts, and in the circumstances of the case and in law, the assessee denies the service of the notices including the preliminary jurisdictional section 148 notice generated by the AO because all the notices are uploaded in E-filing portal without any real time alert and neither transmitted electronically by using email id nor physically send by post, thus the jurisdiction assumed by the AO for concluding the assessment without ensuring service of the notices upon the assessee may kindly be held as bad in law, accordingly, it is requested to quash the reassessment order dated 26.3.2022 passed u/s. 147 r.w.s. 144.

2. That without prejudice to the grounds of appeal no. 1 raised above, it is objected that the AO is erred in concluding the assessment order under the un-amended provisions of section 147 valid upto 31.3.2021 without verifying the date when the preliminary section 148 jurisdictional notice uploaded in E-filing portal was viewed by the assessee and in the present case section 148 was uploaded on 30.3.2021, thus the date of viewing the section 148 notice may be on or after 1st April, 2021 accordingly the reassessment order dated 26.3.2022 passed under the unamended provisions of section 147 is vitiated in law and liable the quashed.

It was submitted that the above additional grounds of appeal are purely legal in nature and goes to the root of the matter and can be taken as additional grounds at any stage of proceedings and even before the ITAT for the first time and are emanating from the records available before the Tribunal. The legal grounds do not require any investigation and all materials are already on record before the Tribunal. It is further submitted that no prejudice will cause to revenue by admitting these legal grounds, since the revenue will be having a proper and reasonable opportunity of being heard on these issues. It was further submitted that in the absence of admission of above grounds, the assessee may suffer irreparable loss. In view of above, it is prayed that that the above additional grounds may kindly be admitted by relying upon the decision in the case of National Thermal Power Corporation Ltd. vs. CIT 229 ITR 383 (SC).

Heard both the sides and perused the records. We find that the above said additional grounds are purely legal and goes to the root of the matter, therefore, we admit the additional grounds for adjudication.

The brief facts of the case are that the assessee is an individual. The AO received information that the assessee had made time deposits of Rs. 6,93,00,000/- and received interest income amounting to rs. 34,79,870/- during F.Y. 2012-13 relevant to AY 2013-14. The assessee had not filed her return of income for AY 2013-14. The case was reopened u/s. 147 of the Act and notice u/s. 148 of the Act was issued to the assessee on 30.3.2021. In response to the said notice, the assessee did not file here income tax return. The assessee did not make any compliance during the assessment proceedings. The AO, therefore, passed order u/s. 144 r.w.s. 147 of the Act on 27.3.2022 determining total income at Rs. 7,27,79,870/-.

Aggrieved by the order of the AO the assessee filed the appeal before the Ld.CIT(A), who vide his order dated 25.3.2025 has partly allowed for statistical purpose the appeal against which the assessee is in appeal before the Tribunal.

The Ld. AR has submitted that in the assessment order dated 27.3.2022 passed u/s. 144 r.w.s. 147, the AO simply mentioned that section 148 notice, dated 30.3.2021 was issued