Reassessment notice limitation under section 149 barred revival of a time-expired section 148 notice and invalid reassessment.

A notice under section 148 for assessment year 2015-16 was held time-barred under section 149 because it was issued on 13.04.2022, beyond the limitation period applicable under the unamended regime. The amended reassessment framework did not revive a notice that had already become barred for assessment years beginning on or before 01.04.2021. On that basis, the notice was quashed, and the reassessment order failed as it was founded on an invalid notice.

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Issues: Whether the notice issued under section 148 for the relevant assessment year was barred by limitation under section 149 of the Income-tax Act, 1961, and whether the consequent reassessment could survive.

Analysis: The relevant assessment year was 2015-16. The notice under section 148 was issued on 13.04.2022, i.e. beyond six years from the end of the assessment year. The applicable legal position, as followed from binding precedent, is that for assessment years beginning on or before 01.04.2021, a notice under section 148 cannot be issued where it was already time-barred under the unamended limitation regime. The extended time framework under the amended provisions did not save the notice in the present facts.

Conclusion: The notice under section 148 was barred by limitation and liable to be quashed. The reassessment order, being founded on an invalid notice, also failed.

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