Limitation on reassessment notices under section 148 bars time-expired proceedings and invalidates consequential assessment orders.

A reassessment notice under section 148 for assessment year 2015-16 was held to be time-barred because it was issued beyond the limitation period reflected in the unamended section 149(1)(b). The amended first proviso to section 149(1) was read as preserving the earlier bar for assessment years beginning on or before 01.04.2021 where a notice could not have been issued under the pre-amendment regime. The exclusion periods in the fifth and sixth provisos were held not to extend the first proviso's restriction. As the notice was invalid, the reassessment lacked jurisdiction and the consequential assessment order could not stand.

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Issues: Whether the reassessment notice issued under section 148 of the Income-tax Act, 1961 for assessment year 2015-16 was barred by limitation under the first proviso to section 149(1) and, if so, whether the consequential assessment order was liable to be quashed.

Analysis: The notice under section 148 was issued on 06.04.2022 for assessment year 2015-16, which was beyond the time limit available under the unamended section 149(1)(b). The amended first proviso to section 149(1) preserved the earlier bar for assessment years beginning on or before 01.04.2021 where a notice could not have been issued under the pre-amendment regime. The Court held that the exclusion periods in the fifth and sixth provisos cannot extend the restriction imposed by the first proviso. As the notice itself was time-barred, the reassessment proceedings lacked valid jurisdiction, and the assessment order founded on that notice could not survive.

Conclusion: The reassessment notice was invalid for being barred by limitation, and the consequential assessment order was quashed in favour of the assessee.

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