Reassessment notice time-barred where the earlier limitation had already expired despite the new ten-year regime.

A reassessment notice under Section 148 issued after an order under Section 148A(d) was found time-barred for assessment year 2016-17 because the relevant limitation had already expired under the earlier regime. The Court applied the first proviso to Section 149(1)(b) and held that the extended ten-year limit operates prospectively and does not validate a notice where the pre-amendment six-year period had already lapsed on the date of issuance. The reassessment proceedings were quashed as unsustainable on limitation grounds.

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Issues: Whether the notice under Section 148 of the Income-tax Act, 1961 for assessment year 2016-17, issued after an order under Section 148A(d), was barred by limitation under the first proviso to Section 149(1)(b).

Analysis: The assessment year in question fell within the category for which the continued existence of the time limit under the pre-amendment regime had to be examined. The Court applied the governing principle that a notice under the reconstituted reassessment regime cannot be issued where the relevant six-year period had already expired on the date of issuance, and that the extended ten-year limit operates prospectively, subject to the protection afforded by the first proviso to Section 149(1)(b).

Conclusion: The notice was held to be time-barred and unsustainable.

Final Conclusion: The reassessment proceedings for assessment year 2016-17 were quashed on limitation grounds.

Ratio Decidendi: A notice under Section 148 of the Income-tax Act, 1961 cannot be sustained for an assessment year covered by the first proviso to Section 149(1)(b) if the limitation period under the earlier regime had already expired on the date of issuance.

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