Reassessment barred by limitation when notice under section 148 was issued after the surviving time limit expired.

Reassessment proceedings initiated after the surviving limitation period were invalid, because a notice under section 148/148A(b) must be issued within the time still available under the law. Applying the principles in Ashish Agarwal, Rajeev Bansal and Ram Balram Buildhome, the ITAT Delhi held that reassessment steps taken beyond the surviving time limit could not be sustained. As the notice and consequential reassessment order were issued after limitation had expired, the assessment lost validity and the reassessment was quashed in favour of the assessee.

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Issues: (i) Whether the reassessment notice and the consequential reassessment order were barred by limitation and therefore liable to be quashed.

Analysis: The notice under section 148 / section 148A(b) was issued after the surviving time limit had expired. Applying the principles laid down in Ashish Agarwal, Rajeev Bansal, and Ram Balram Buildhome, the Tribunal held that the reassessment steps had to conform to the surviving limitation period and that action taken beyond that period could not be sustained. Since the notice and the resulting reassessment order were issued after the expiry of limitation, the assessment lost validity.

Conclusion: The reassessment proceedings were barred by limitation and the consequential assessment was quashed, in favour of the assessee.

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