Reassessment limitation under the substituted regime: notice issued after the extended deadline was invalid and proceedings could not survive.

A reassessment notice for assessment year 2017-18 issued under the substituted reassessment regime after the applicable limitation period was treated as invalid. The analysis notes that, applying the extension available under TOLA and binding Supreme Court directions, the outer limit expired on 30.06.2021, while the later notice was issued on 20.07.2022. Because the notice itself was time-barred, the reassessment proceedings could not survive and the resulting reassessment order was void ab initio.

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Issues: Whether the notice issued under the reassessment regime for assessment year 2017-18 was barred by limitation and liable to be quashed.

Analysis: The additional ground challenging the validity of the reassessment notice was admitted as it involved a pure question of law not requiring fresh factual enquiry. The notice under the old provision was issued after the statutory time frame had expired. For assessment year 2017-18, the outer limit under the substituted reassessment framework, read with the relaxation under TOLA as applied by the binding Supreme Court decisions, expired on 30.06.2021. The subsequent notice under the new regime was issued only on 20.07.2022, well beyond the permissible period. Once the notice itself was time-barred, the reassessment proceedings could not survive.

Conclusion: The reassessment notice was held to be beyond limitation and was quashed, with the consequence that the reassessment order was void ab initio and the assessee succeeded on the legal issue.

Ratio Decidendi: A reassessment notice issued under the substituted regime after the expiry of the applicable limitation period, as extended only to the extent permissible under TOLA and binding Supreme Court directions, is invalid and the resulting reassessment proceedings cannot stand.

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