Authority must wait four weeks after serving s.148 rejection order before taking further action; premature assessments voided

HC directed that when assessing authority rejects objections to reopening under s.148, it must not take further action for four weeks from service of the rejection order on the assessee, to allow effective remedy; assessments issued within that interval are premature. Petitions challenging prior practice were disposed of on that basis.

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The High Court of Bombay ruled on a case regarding reopening of assessment orders under section 148 of the Income-tax Act. The court directed that if objections are rejected, the Assessing Officer must not proceed further for four weeks to allow the assessee time to challenge. The Income-tax Officer must strictly follow this procedure in all cases of reopening assessments.

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