Limitation period on reopening: notice issued after expiry of the six-year unamended period is invalid and reassessment is quashed.

Notice under section 148 issued on 25.07.2022 for AY 2015-16 was held time-barred because the six-year limitation under the pre-amendment regime had expired on 31.03.2022; consequently reassessment proceedings lacked jurisdiction and were quashed. The Tribunal applied the Rajeev Bansal line of authority and the Taxation and Other Laws (Relaxation and Amendment of Certain Provisions) Act, 2020 to conclude that the extended ten-year limitation operates prospectively and does not validate notices issued after expiry of the original six-year period for years beginning on or before 1 April 2021.

---

---

Issues: Whether the notice issued under section 148 of the Income-tax Act, 1961 dated 25.07.2022 for Assessment Year 2015-16 is barred by limitation and therefore the reassessment proceedings initiated pursuant thereto are without jurisdiction and liable to be quashed.

Analysis: The Tribunal examined the timeline of events including filing of return on 31.10.2015, the issuance of earlier notices in 2021 and the specific notice dated 25.07.2022. Applying the Supreme Court's decision in Union of India v. Rajeev Bansal and related coordinate bench and High Court authorities, the Tribunal analysed the interplay between the amended and unamended regimes of sections 148 and 149 and the effect of the Taxation and Other Laws (Relaxation and Amendment of Certain Provisions) Act, 2020. The controlling test is whether the six-year period under the old regime subsisted on the date of issuance of the notice; for AY 2015-16 the six-year limitation expired on 31.03.2022. The notice under section 148 having been issued on 25.07.2022 fell after expiry of that six-year period. The Tribunal also noted the recorded concession by Revenue in Rajeev Bansal that notices for AY 2015-16 issued on or after 01.04.2021 should be dropped and relied on consistent judicial decisions following that concession.

Conclusion: The notice under section 148 dated 25.07.2022 for AY 2015-16 is time-barred, the reassessment proceedings initiated thereon are without jurisdiction and are quashed; the appeal of the assessee is allowed.

Ratio Decidendi: For assessment years beginning on or before 1 April 2021, a notice under section 148 of the Income-tax Act, 1961 is invalid if the six-year limitation under the unamended regime (section 149) has expired on the date of issuance of the notice; the amended ten-year limitation applies prospectively only.

---