Limitation plea on reassessment must rest on factual material before the appellate forum and cannot be raised for the first time.

A plea that reassessment is barred by limitation and therefore without jurisdiction, where it depends on disputed facts such as the date and service of notice, is not a pure question of law. The Tribunal was justified in refusing to entertain that contention for the first time when no supporting factual material had been placed before it and the point had not been raised before the lower authorities. The writ challenge therefore disclosed no jurisdictional error in the Tribunal's approach, while leaving the assessee free to raise any permissible limitation objection before the appellate authority in accordance with law.

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Issues: Whether the assessee could, for the first time before the Appellate Tribunal in writ proceedings, raise the plea that the reassessment was barred by limitation and therefore without jurisdiction.

Analysis: The limitation plea depended upon ascertainment of facts, particularly the date and service of notice under the reassessment provisions, and was not a pure question of law capable of decision on the existing record alone. No such ground had been taken before the assessing authority or the appellate authority below, and no material was placed before the Tribunal to enable determination of the factual foundation for the plea. In these circumstances, the Tribunal was justified in declining to entertain the new contention at that stage. The fact that the matter had been remanded to the appellate authority also meant that the assessee had not suffered any adverse final prejudice on the Tribunal's refusal to entertain the point in the first instance.

Conclusion: The limitation and jurisdiction plea could not be insisted upon for the first time before the Tribunal in the absence of the necessary factual foundation, and the Tribunal's refusal to entertain it was upheld.

Final Conclusion: The writ petition failed because the challenged order did not disclose any illegality or jurisdictional error warranting interference, while leaving the assessee free to raise any permissible limitation objection before the appellate authority in accordance with law.

Ratio Decidendi: A plea that reassessment is time-barred, where it turns on disputed or unascertained facts such as service of notice, is not a pure question of law and need not be entertained for the first time by the appellate forum in the absence of supporting material on record.

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