Commissioner-approved reopening under fast track assessment escapes the Section 19 limitation period and remains valid.

Section 19 imposes a five-year limit on reopening by the assessing authority, but the fast track assessment regime under Section 17D allowed assessments pending on 1 April 2007 to be completed by a Commissioner-constituted team. The proviso to Section 17D(2)(d) permitted reopening with the prior permission of the Commissioner and did not prescribe a separate time limit. The later proviso introduced by the Finance Act, 2010 confirmed that, where an assessment completed under the Act is reopened with the Commissioner's permission, the Section 19 limitation does not apply, so such reassessment remains valid.

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Issues: Whether reassessment completed under the fast track procedure could be reopened after the period prescribed in Section 19 when the reopening was with the prior permission of the Commissioner.

Analysis: Section 19 governs reopening by the assessing authority and prescribes a five-year limitation. Section 17D introduced a special fast track assessment mechanism, under which assessments pending as on 1 April 2007 could be completed by a team constituted by the Commissioner. The proviso to Section 17D(2)(d) permitted reopening with the prior permission of the Commissioner, and no separate time limit was provided for such reopening. The later proviso introduced by the Finance Act, 2010 expressly stated that where an assessment completed under the Act has been reopened with the permission of the Commissioner, the time limit in Section 19 shall not apply.

Conclusion: The limitation in Section 19 did not bar reopening of the assessment when it was done with the Commissioner's permission, and the reassessment orders were valid.

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