Reassessment limitation under section 150 depends on an express finding or direction, not a mere permissive observation.

Section 150 permits a notice under section 148 at any time only where the reassessment is made in consequence of, or to give effect to, an express finding or direction in an appellate, revisional or reference order. A permissive observation that the Assessing Officer may consider deleted income in regular assessments, if law permits, is not a binding direction or finding. On that basis, the reopening was not protected from limitation and the reassessment notices were invalid; the resulting assessment orders for both years were quashed.

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Issues: Whether the reassessment notices and the resulting assessment orders for the assessment years 1997-98 and 1998-99 were valid when the reopening was based only on the Tribunal's earlier observation that the Assessing Officer may consider the deleted income in regular assessments, and whether section 150 of the Income-tax Act, 1961 could be invoked to override limitation.

Analysis: Section 150 permits notice under section 148 at any time only where the reassessment is made in consequence of, or to give effect to, a finding or direction contained in an appellate, revisional, or reference order. A finding or direction must be an express, operative determination necessary for disposal of the earlier proceeding. A mere permissive observation leaving it to the Assessing Officer's discretion does not amount to a direction. The earlier Tribunal remark that the Assessing Officer may consider the income in regular assessments, if law permits, was only an observation and not a binding finding or direction under section 153(3)(ii).

Conclusion: The reopening was not saved by section 150, the reassessment notices were invalid, and the assessment orders for both years were quashed in favour of the assessee.

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