Limitation for reassessment notice under section 148 failed where reopening was barred after expiry of the applicable period.

The validity of a section 148 notice must be tested under the law in force on the date of issue. For assessment year 2015-16, the pre-amendment limitation under section 149(1) had expired on 31.03.2022, and the first proviso to section 149(1), as interpreted by the SC, barred reopening of a year already outside the earlier six-year period. Time excluded under section 148A(b) did not save a notice that was already beyond the permissible limit. The notice dated 01.04.2022 was therefore held time-barred and invalid, and the reassessment and addition were quashed; merits were left open.

---

---

Issues: Whether the notice issued under section 148 of the Income-tax Act, 1961 on 01.04.2022 for assessment year 2015-16 was barred by limitation, and whether the reassessment proceedings and consequential addition could survive.

Analysis: The applicable limitation had to be tested with reference to the law in force on the date of issue of notice. For assessment year 2015-16, the pre-amendment time limit under section 149(1) had expired on 31.03.2022. The first proviso to section 149(1), read in the light of the Supreme Court's interpretation, restricts reopening of past assessment years where the earlier six-year period had already expired. The exclusion clauses relating to time granted under section 148A(b) do not assist where the notice under section 148 itself is already beyond the permissible period.

Conclusion: The notice under section 148 dated 01.04.2022 was time-barred and invalid. The reassessment proceedings based on that notice were quashed and the addition was deleted. The merits were left open.

---