12[Issue
of notice where income has escaped assessment.
13148. 14[(1)] Before making the
assessment, reassessment or recomputation under section
147, the Assessing Officer shall serve15
on the assessee a notice requiring him to furnish within such period, 16[* * *] as may be specified in the
notice, a return of his income or the income of any other person in respect of
which he is assessable under this Act during the previous year corresponding to
the relevant assessment year, in the prescribed form and verified in the
prescribed manner and setting forth such other particulars as may be
pres-cribed; and the provisions of this Act shall, so far as may be17, apply accordingly as if such return
were a return required to be furnished under section
139 :]
18[Provided
that in a case—
(a) where a return has been furnished during the
period commencing on the 1st day of October, 1991 and ending on the 30th day of
September, 2005 in response to a notice served under this section, and
(b) subsequently a notice has been served under
sub-section (2) of section 143 after the expiry of
twelve months specified in the proviso to sub-section (2) of section 143, as it stood immediately before the
amendment of said sub-section by the Finance Act, 2002 (20 of 2002) but before
the expiry of the time limit for making the assessment, re-assessment or
recomputation as specified in sub-section (2) of section
153, every such notice referred to in this clause shall be deemed to be a
valid notice:
Provided further that in a case—
(a) where a return has been furnished during the
period commencing on the 1st day of October, 1991 and ending on the 30th day of
September, 2005, in response to a notice served under this section, and
(b) subsequently a notice has been served under
clause (ii) of sub-section (2) of section
143 after the expiry of twelve months specified in the proviso to clause (ii) of
sub-section (2) of section 143, but before the
expiry of the time limit for making the assessment, reassessment or
recomputation as specified in sub-section (2) of section
153, every such notice referred to in this clause shall be deemed to be a
valid notice.]
19[Explanation.—For the
removal of doubts, it is hereby declared that nothing contained in the first
proviso or the second proviso shall apply to any return which has been
furnished on or after the 1st day of October, 2005 in response to a notice
served under this section.]
20[(2) The Assessing Officer
shall, before issuing any notice under this section, record his reasons for
doing so.]