Limitation for reassessment notice under section 148: lack of proof of timely issuance made section 292BB inapplicable.

A notice under section 148 was held time-barred because the Revenue could not prove valid issuance within the limitation period under section 149(1)(b). The original notice was returned for incomplete address, and the later dispatch with the covering letter was beyond the deadline; in the absence of conclusive evidence that the notice had left the Assessing Officer's control in time, the presumption under section 27 of the General Clauses Act did not apply. Section 292BB was confined to defects in service and could not cure non-issuance or invalid issuance within limitation. The reassessment was therefore void ab initio and quashed.

---

---

Issues: Whether the notice issued under section 148 was validly issued within the prescribed limitation period so as to sustain the reassessment proceedings, and whether section 292BB could cure the defect.

Analysis: The notice was dated 29.03.2017, but the record showed that the initial notice was returned for incomplete address on 31.03.2017 and that the subsequent dispatch with covering letter dated 07.04.2017 was beyond the limitation deadline. In the absence of conclusive dispatch evidence showing that the notice had left the control of the Assessing Officer within time, the Revenue failed to establish valid issuance within the period prescribed under section 149(1)(b). The presumption under section 27 of the General Clauses Act, 1897 was not available on these facts. Section 292BB was held to be confined to defects in service and could not cure a case of non-issuance or invalid issuance within limitation.

Conclusion: The notice under section 148 was time-barred and the reassessment proceedings were invalid, void ab initio, and liable to be quashed; the assessee succeeded.

---