Reassessment notices under the substituted regime must comply with surviving limitation periods and limited TOLA relaxation.

A reassessment notice issued after 1 April 2021 must be tested under the substituted reassessment regime, with TOLA relaxation applying only to the extent recognised by the Supreme Court. On the stated facts, a notice under section 148 issued on 19 July 2022 for assessment year 2013-14 was beyond the surviving limitation period and could not be sustained. The Tribunal treated the issue as governed by binding Supreme Court principles on transition-period notices and held that the notice was without jurisdiction and liable to be quashed as barred by limitation.

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Issues: Whether the notice issued under section 148 for reopening the assessment was valid in law, having regard to the limitation period and the effect of the substituted reassessment regime read with TOLA and the Supreme Court rulings governing notices issued during the transition period.

Analysis: The reassessment notice was issued for assessment year 2013-14 long after the period recognised as surviving under the applicable limitation framework. The Tribunal applied the binding principles that, after 1 April 2021, the Income-tax Act must be read with the substituted reassessment provisions, and that the relaxation under TOLA extends only to the limited extent recognised by the Supreme Court. On the facts, the notice issued on 19 July 2022 was beyond the permissible period and could not be sustained. The Tribunal treated the issue as squarely covered by the later Supreme Court ruling and followed that principle to test the validity of the notice.

Conclusion: The reassessment notice was invalid and liable to be quashed; the issue was decided in favour of the assessee.

Final Conclusion: The appeal succeeded on the legal ground and the reassessment notice was set aside as barred by limitation.

Ratio Decidendi: A reassessment notice issued after the surviving limitation period under the substituted reassessment regime and the applicable relaxation law is without jurisdiction and cannot be sustained.

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