Reassessment limitation under section 148: notice issued after the surviving time expired and TOLA relaxation was inapplicable.

A reassessment notice under section 148 was treated as time-barred where it was issued after the transition to the new reassessment regime and after the surviving period for further action had expired. The analysis states that the extended time under TOLA did not apply to Assessment Year 2015-16, so the limitation period could not be saved by that relaxation. On that basis, a notice issued beyond the statutory time limit was considered unsustainable and incapable of supporting reassessment proceedings.

---

---

Issues: Whether the reassessment notice issued under section 148 for Assessment Year 2015-16 was barred by limitation and liable to be quashed.

Analysis: The notice under section 148 was issued on 28.07.2022 after the matter had moved to the new reassessment regime following the earlier show-cause notice under section 148A(b). On the facts recorded, the surviving period for further action had expired, and the notice ought to have been issued within the limited time available. The decision also proceeds on the footing that the relaxation under TOLA did not apply to Assessment Year 2015-16, and therefore the extended time could not save the impugned notice. In that situation, the notice was found to be beyond limitation and unsustainable.

Conclusion: The reassessment notice under section 148 was barred by limitation and was quashed.

Final Conclusion: The assessee succeeded, and the reassessment proceedings based on the impugned notice did not survive.

Ratio Decidendi: Where the statutory time limit for reassessment has expired and the transitional relaxation under TOLA is inapplicable to the relevant assessment year, a notice issued beyond limitation is void and cannot sustain reassessment proceedings.

---