No section 143(2) notice, no valid reassessment: the Orissa Mining ruling
On 28 October 2026 the Supreme Court held that a reassessment is invalid if the officer never issued a section 143(2) notice, even when the taxpayer took part without objecting.
Case at a glance
- Court
- Supreme Court of India
- Case
- Principal Commissioner of Income Tax, Bhubaneshwar v. Orissa Mining Corporation Ltd. (connected appeals)
- Citation
- 2026 INSC 1171
- Decided
- 28 October 2026
- Result
- Revenue's appeals dismissed. The reassessment orders stay set aside, in favour of the taxpayers.
What happened
The income tax department had already assessed Orissa Mining Corporation Ltd. for assessment years 2008-09, 2010-11 and 2011-12, and Bijoy Kishore Mohanty for 2009-10 and 2010-11, under section 143(3). It later reopened those assessments under section 147 and issued notices under section 148.
Orissa Mining asked that its original return be treated as the return filed in response to the section 148 notice. Mr Mohanty filed the same return again. In both cases the Assessing Officer never issued a notice under section 143(2).
How the case travelled
The Income Tax Appellate Tribunal set aside the reassessment orders because the section 143(2) notices were missing. The Orissa High Court upheld the Tribunal. The department then appealed to the Supreme Court.
The department's argument and the Court's answer
The department argued that the taxpayers had taken part in the reassessment and had not objected to the missing notice. The Supreme Court bench of Justices Sanjay Kumar and Sanjeev Sachdeva rejected this.
The Court treated a section 143(2) notice as an indispensable step before a reassessment of this kind can be completed. It also held that section 292BB does not rescue the department. That section cures defects in how a notice was served, but it does not cure a notice that was never issued. Taking part in the proceedings does not take away the taxpayer's right to raise the objection.
What this means for a business owner
- If you receive a section 148 notice, track whether a section 143(2) notice follows before the reassessment is completed.
- Filing your return and attending the hearings did not waive the objection in this ruling.
- Keep every notice and its date. An objection like this depends on what the record shows.
- The ruling concerns reassessment of the kind in these appeals, where an earlier assessment under section 143(3) was reopened. Each case turns on its own facts and the law for that year.
Sources
General information based on public court records and published reports, as understood on 15 November 2026. It is not tax or legal advice. Your own facts decide the outcome, so speak to a professional before you act.
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