Reassessment limitation under section 149 bars revival of time-barred cases after expiry of the earlier reassessment period.

A reassessment notice under section 148 for assessment year 2015-16 was held time-barred because the unamended limitation had expired on 31.03.2022 and the notice was issued only on 09.04.2022. The first proviso to section 149(1)(b) was applied to hold that the amended ten-year regime cannot revive cases that had already become barred under the earlier law. The consequent reassessment order was therefore invalid and liable to be quashed, and the additions made in reassessment were unsustainable.

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Issues: Whether the notice issued under section 148 for assessment year 2015-16 was barred by limitation under the first proviso to section 149(1)(b) of the Income-tax Act, 1961, and whether the consequent reassessment order was liable to be quashed.

Analysis: The reassessment notice was issued on 09.04.2022 for assessment year 2015-16. The relevant limitation under the unamended reassessment regime had expired on 31.03.2022. The first proviso to section 149(1)(b) protects years for which the old time limit had already run out, and the enlarged ten-year period under the amended regime cannot revive a notice that had become time-barred under the earlier law. On that basis, the notice could not validly be issued after 01.04.2022.

Conclusion: The notice under section 148 was time-barred, and the reassessment order based on it was invalid and liable to be quashed.

Final Conclusion: The appeal succeeded and the reassessment was annulled on the ground of limitation, leaving the additions unsustainable.

Ratio Decidendi: For assessment years governed by the pre-amendment limitation regime, a reassessment notice under section 148 cannot be issued under the amended law once the earlier limitation period has already expired; the first proviso to section 149(1)(b) prevents revival of such time-barred cases.

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