Prospective limitation amendment under KVAT cannot revive time-barred reassessment notice issued after expiry of the original period.

Notice and assessment under Section 25(1) of the Kerala Value Added Tax Act for the 2011-12 assessment year were barred by limitation because the limitation period expired on 31.03.2017. The Kerala Finance Act, 2017 amendment extending the assessment timeline operated only prospectively from 01.04.2017 and was not retrospective. The third proviso was treated as a transitional extension only for matters within the prescribed limit; it did not revive proceedings already time-barred when the notice was issued. The notice dated 25.01.2018 was therefore beyond time, and the proceedings were without jurisdiction.

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Issues: Whether the notice and assessment under Section 25(1) of the Kerala Value Added Tax Act, 2003 for the assessment year 2011-12 were barred by limitation and whether the amendment brought in by the Kerala Finance Act, 2017 operated retrospectively.

Analysis: The limitation for initiating proceedings under Section 25(1) expired on 31.03.2017 for the assessment year 2011-12. The amendment introduced by the Kerala Finance Act, 2017, which substituted the expression relating to completion of assessment and extended the time frame, was held to operate only prospectively from 01.04.2017. The third proviso was understood as a specific transitional extension for matters where limitation expired on 31.03.2017, but it did not authorise reopening after the prescribed period in cases already time-barred on the date of the notice. The notice issued on 25.01.2018 was therefore beyond the permissible period.

Conclusion: The assessment proceedings were time-barred and without jurisdiction, and the challenge succeeded.

Ratio Decidendi: An amendment extending the limitation period for reassessment under the KVAT Act operates prospectively unless expressly made retrospective, and a notice issued after the unamended limitation period cannot revive a time-barred proceeding.

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