Delhi High Court on Reassessment Notice Jurisdiction: JAO vs FAO.

Headnote

The Delhi High Court held that in the jurisdiction of Delhi both the Jurisdictional Assessing Officer (JAO) and the Faceless Assessing Officer (FAO) have concurrent power to issue notices for reassessment under Section 148 of the Income Tax Act, 1961. The Court rejected the argument that only the FAO may issue such notices under Section 151A read with the Faceless Assessment Scheme. The petitions were dismissed for lack of merit.

Background

1. The petitioners challenged notices issued under Section 148 of the Income Tax Act by the JAO, contending those notices were void because the statutory scheme introduced by Section 151A (via TOLA 2022) mandates that only the FAO may issue such notices under a faceless regime.
2. The petitioners cited several High Court decisions (e.g., Hexaware Technologies Ltd., Prakash Pandurang Patil) and a dismissal of an SLP by the Supreme Court, arguing that the law now requires exclusive FAO jurisdiction.
3. The Revenue contended that in Delhi, consistent precedent of the Court grants concurrent jurisdiction to the JAO and FAO, and no stay was in place.

Court’s Observations

1. The Court affirmed its prior rulings in TKS Builders (P) Ltd. and P.C. Jeweller Ltd. which held JAO and FAO share concurrent jurisdiction under Section 148 in Delhi.
2. It noted that dismissal of an SLP in limine by the Supreme Court does not operate as a binding precedent altering jurisdiction unless reasons are given.
3. Given that the judgment in TKS Builders is still under appeal and not stayed, the Court considered itself bound by it and maintained the concurrent jurisdiction view.
4. The Court rejected the petitioners’ submissions that the JAO is divested of power under Section 151A read with Section 144B and the Faceless Assessment Scheme.

Decision

The petitions were dismissed for lack of merit. The Court upheld the concurrent jurisdiction of JAO and FAO in Delhi for issuing Section 148 notices. All pending applications were dismissed as infructuous.

Legal Provisions Discussed

1. Section 148, Income Tax Act, 1961 – Notice for reassessment.
2. Section 151A, Income Tax Act, 1961 (via TOLA 2022) – Faceless reassessment regime.
3. Section 144B, Income Tax Act, 1961 – National Faceless Assessment Centre scheme.

Case: Inder Dev Gupta & Ors. v. Assistant Commissioner of Income Tax, Central Circle 2-Delhi

Court: High Court of Delhi at New Delhi

Date of Decision: 21 November 2025

Writ Petitions Nos.: W.P.(C) 16937/2025 & Ors.