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2022 (8) TMI 1184 - AT - Income TaxReopening of assessment u/s 147 - notice issued in the name of non - existence entity - As argued assessment order is beyond the jurisdiction of the AO in as much as notice u/s 148 was issued in the name of an entity which was struck off from register of companies - HELD THAT:- Admittedly the name of directors of the assessee company were disqualified by ROC u/s 164(2) of the Companies Act with effect from 01.11.2016 till 31.10.2021 leading to struck off of the name of company from Register of Companies and consequential dissolution with effect from 07.06.2017 vide order dated 30.06.2017. The same was in pursuant of powers under sub section 5 of section 248 of the Companies Act r.w.r. 3 and 9 of the Companies (removal of names of companies from Register of Companies) Rules, 2016. This dissolution after struck off the name of company by Register of Companies has to be distinguished with dissolution pursuant to orders of Hon’ble High Court or amalgamation of the Companies. AO had approached the NCLT for restoration of the name of company as the reassessment proceedings were pending before him which were getting time barred on 31.12.2018. The restoration of name of the company will have a retrospective effect as if name of company was never struck off, however the stringent law of limitation under the Act would have debarred the Ld. AO from passing re-assessment order after 31.12.2018. Even if the petition u/s 252(1) r.w.s. 252(3) of the Companies Act was allowed and the name of company was restored, as if, it was never struck off, that would not have revived the limitation for re-assessment which had started to run and would have ended on 31.12.2018. Therefore, the impugned assessment order cannot be said to be void ab initio having been passed on a non-existing entity. Like protective assessments, the preemptive assessments made against companies whose name have been stuck off by Registrar of Companies, for the statutory defaults under the Companies Act, are valid and cannot be set aside on Jurisdictional defect. More so when revival application is sub judice. So there is no substance in the grounds raised. As the Ld. Counsel for assessee claims that the assessee has good case on merits but same require verification of facts and assessee was ex-parte in assessment proceedings. The ends of justice will be served by letting assessee appear before Ld. AO and justify its claim to the satisfaction of Ld. AO. Appeal is allowed for statistical purposes
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