Limitation under Section 149(1)(b): reassessment notices for AY 2017-18 issued after the preserved period held time-barred and quashed.

The challenge concerns whether reassessment proceedings under the post-2021 reassessment framework are time-barred where the earlier six-year limitation had expired before issuance. Applying the preserved limitation principle under the proviso to Section 149(1)(b) as construed in Rajeev Bansal and follow-on decisions, notices for Assessment Year 2017-18 issued on 07.05.2024 fell outside the preserved time limit because the six-year period expired on 31.03.2024; accordingly the reassessment order under Section 148A(d) and the Section 148 notice were quashed as time-barred, with consequential relief directed to the petitioner.

---

---

Issues: Whether the reassessment order under Section 148A(d) and the notice under Section 148 of the Income-tax Act, 1961 for Assessment Year 2017-18 issued on 07.05.2024 are barred by limitation in view of the proviso to Section 149(1)(b) and governing principles in Union of India v. Rajeev Bansal (2024) and subsequent consistent decisions.

Analysis: The notice and order relate to Assessment Year 2017-18 and were issued on 07.05.2024. The applicable limitation for issuance of a reassessment notice for that assessment year is governed by the time limits preserved by the proviso to Section 149(1)(b) of the Income-tax Act, 1961 as interpreted in Rajeev Bansal (2024). Under that framework, a notice under Section 148 of the post-2021 regime cannot be issued for assessment years on or before 1 April 2021 if the six-year limitation under the old regime had expired at the time of issuance. For AY 2017-18 the six-year period expired on 31.03.2024; issuance on 07.05.2024 therefore falls outside the preserved time limit. Subsequent High Court decisions applying Rajeev Bansal to notices issued for AY 2017-18 on similar dates have set aside such orders and notices as time-barred.

Conclusion: The reassessment order under Section 148A(d) and the notice under Section 148 dated 07.05.2024 for Assessment Year 2017-18 are quashed as barred by limitation; the petitioner is entitled to consequential benefits flowing from quashment.

---