Retrospective omission of a limitation clause removes the time bar for excess profits tax reassessment and validates the notice.

A retrospective amendment that omits a limitation clause and deems the omission to have always existed is treated as if the clause never formed part of the statute. On that basis, the five-year restriction originally in section 15 of the Excess Profits Tax Act could not bar reassessment once the amendment took effect before the claim had become time-barred. The objection that the notice had to be issued only under section 15, and not section 13, was rejected as unavailable at that stage and, in any event, section 13 was wide enough to cover a person liable to excess profits tax. The assessment was therefore treated as valid and not time-barred.

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Issues: Whether the excess profits tax assessment was barred by limitation in view of the five-year period originally contained in section 15 of the Excess Profits Tax Act, 1940, and whether the notice issued under section 13 was invalid for having been issued after the assessing period.

Analysis: Section 15 originally permitted reassessment only within five years from the end of the chargeable accounting period, but section 16 of Act XXII of 1947 omitted those words and declared them to have always been omitted. The amendment was given effect from 31 March 1947 by a statutory fiction, and that fiction had to be carried to its logical conclusion. As the period of five years stood retrospectively removed before the assessment became barred, no plea of limitation survived. The further objection that only a notice under section 15 could be issued, and not one under section 13, was rejected because the point was not raised earlier and, in any event, section 13 was wide enough to cover a person liable to excess profits tax.

Conclusion: The assessment was not time-barred and the notice issued on 8 March 1950 was valid.

Final Conclusion: The reference was answered against the assessee and in favour of the Revenue, holding that no limitation barred the excess profits tax proceedings.

Ratio Decidendi: Where a repealing amendment retrospectively omits a limitation clause and declares the omission to have always existed, the omitted limitation is to be treated as never having formed part of the statute, and proceedings not already barred when the amendment took effect remain valid.

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