Reassessment limitation under section 148: fresh notice issued after the surviving period was held time-barred.

Where reassessment proceedings continue under the substituted section 148 regime, the fresh notice must be issued within the surviving limitation period after excluding the legally mandated intervals. On the recorded dates, the original notice was issued on 30.06.2021, the section 148A(b) show-cause notice on 02.06.2022, replies were filed in June 2022, and the fresh section 148 notice followed on 29.07.2022. Applying the governing exclusion-of-time rules and limitation period, the Tribunal found that the extended date had already expired, so the notice was time-barred and the reassessment proceedings were void.

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Issues: Whether the reassessment notice issued under section 148 of the Income-tax Act, 1961 was barred by limitation.

Analysis: The earlier notice issued under the pre-amended reassessment regime stood replaced by the procedure recognised in the later Supreme Court rulings. On the facts recorded, the original notice had been issued on 30.06.2021, the show-cause notice under section 148A(b) was issued on 02.06.2022, the assessee filed replies on 16.06.2022 and 27.06.2022, and the fresh notice under section 148 was issued on 29.07.2022. Applying the governing law on exclusion of time and the surviving limitation period, the Tribunal held that the extended date for issuance of the fresh notice had expired before 29.07.2022.

Conclusion: The notice under section 148 was barred by limitation and the reassessment proceedings were void. The issue was decided in favour of the assessee.

Ratio Decidendi: Where reassessment proceedings are continued under the substituted section 148 regime, the fresh notice must be issued within the surviving limitation period after excluding the legally mandated intervals, and a notice issued beyond that period is time-barred.

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