Reassessment under the new income-tax regime applies where no old proceedings were pending, and section 6 cannot bar reopening.

Where income had escaped assessment and no proceedings under the repealed 1922 Act were pending when the Income-tax Act, 1961 commenced, section 297(2)(d)(ii) permitted a notice under section 148 for the relevant assessment year. The Madhya Pradesh High Court held that the 1961 Act disclosed a contrary intention, so section 6 of the General Clauses Act, 1897 did not preserve the old limitation or bar reopening under the new regime. A notice mistakenly linked to another assessment year did not prevent valid initiation for the year actually in issue under the 1961 Act. The reassessment notice was therefore valid.

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Issues: Whether a notice under section 148 of the Income-tax Act, 1961 for the assessment year 1946-47 was valid when no proceedings under section 34 of the Indian Income-tax Act, 1922 for that assessment year were pending on the commencement of the new Act, and whether section 6 of the General Clauses Act, 1897 barred such reopening.

Analysis: The notice issued in 1959 under section 34 of the Indian Income-tax Act, 1922 was found to relate to the assessment year 1945-46 and not 1946-47. Consequently, no proceedings under section 34 of the repealed Act were pending for the assessment year 1946-47 when the Income-tax Act, 1961 came into force. Section 297(2)(d)(ii) of the Income-tax Act, 1961 expressly provides that where income has escaped assessment and no proceedings under section 34 of the repealed Act are pending at the commencement of the new Act, a notice under section 148 may be issued for that assessment year. The Court further held that the new Act manifested a contrary intention and therefore excluded the application of section 6 of the General Clauses Act, 1897. The fact that action might have been time-barred under section 34(1A) of the old Act did not prevent initiation under the new statutory regime, which created a distinct liability and remedy.

Conclusion: The notice under section 148 of the Income-tax Act, 1961 for the assessment year 1946-47 was valid, and the petitioner's challenge failed.

Final Conclusion: The repeal-and-replacement provisions of the 1961 Act governed the matter, and the reassessment proceedings for the relevant year could be initiated under the new Act notwithstanding the earlier position under the repealed Act.

Ratio Decidendi: Where no proceedings under the repealed income-tax law are pending at the commencement of the new Act, the saving provision authorizing reassessment under the new Act applies according to its express terms, and section 6 of the General Clauses Act, 1897 is excluded by the contrary intention manifested in the repealing statute.

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