Reassessment notices after the 2021 amendments had to follow Section 148A; old procedure could not survive.

Reassessment notices issued under Section 148 after 01.04.2021 had to comply with the substituted reassessment scheme introduced by the Finance Act, 2021, including the new Section 148A procedure. In the absence of any saving clause preserving the old regime, notices issued after the effective date could not proceed under the pre-amendment provisions. The Taxation and Other Laws (Relaxation and Amendment of Certain Provisions) Act, 2020 and the related relaxation notifications extended limitation only for proceedings still governed by the earlier framework and could not revive replaced provisions. On this basis, the notices were held invalid and quashed, with liberty to proceed afresh under the amended law.

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Issues: Whether reassessment notices issued under Section 148 of the Income-tax Act, 1961 after 01.04.2021, without following the procedure under Section 148A, were valid in view of the substitution of the reassessment provisions by the Finance Act, 2021 and the relaxation notifications issued under the Taxation and Other Laws (Relaxation and Amendment of Certain Provisions) Act, 2020.

Analysis: The writ petitions concerned notices issued after the Finance Act, 2021 had substituted the pre-existing reassessment scheme. The relevant provisions of Sections 147, 148, 149, 151 and 151A stood replaced with effect from 01.04.2021, and Section 148A was introduced as part of the new procedure. In the absence of a saving clause preserving the old regime for notices issued after the effective date, reassessment could proceed only in accordance with the substituted law. The relaxation enactment and the notifications issued under it were held to extend limitation only for proceedings already governed by the pre-existing regime and could not override the substituted statutory framework or revive obliterated provisions. Since the notices in question were issued after 01.04.2021 without compliance with the amended procedure, they lacked jurisdictional foundation.

Conclusion: The reassessment notices were invalid and were quashed. The petitions succeeded, while liberty was left open to the assessing authority to proceed afresh in accordance with the amended law.

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