Reopening limitation under section 149 bars a time-expired section 148 notice for past assessment years.

For assessment years beginning on or before 01.04.2021, the validity of reopening must be tested under the unamended limitation regime preserved by the first proviso to section 149(1). A notice under section 148 issued after expiry of the then-applicable six-year period is time-barred, and the exclusion for time taken in responding to section 148A(b) cannot revive a reopening already barred by that outer limit. Applying that principle, the notice dated 07.04.2022 for AY 2015-16 was invalid, and the reassessment proceedings and consequential assessment order could not survive.

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Issues: Whether the notice under section 148 of the Income-tax Act, 1961 issued on 07.04.2022 for Assessment Year 2015-16 was barred by limitation under the first proviso to section 149(1) of the Income-tax Act, 1961 and whether the reassessment proceedings and consequential assessment order could survive.

Analysis: The assessment year in question began on or before 01.04.2021, so the validity of the reopening had to be tested with reference to the unamended limitation regime under section 149 as preserved by the first proviso to section 149(1). On the admitted facts, the period of six years from the end of Assessment Year 2015-16 expired on 31.03.2022, while the notice under section 148 was issued only on 07.04.2022. The exclusion clauses relating to time allowed in response to notice under section 148A(b) do not extend a notice beyond the outer bar created by the first proviso for past assessment years. Following the binding jurisdictional precedent relied upon in the order, a notice issued after expiry of the six-year period for such assessment years is invalid.

Conclusion: The notice under section 148 dated 07.04.2022 was held to be barred by limitation and invalid in law; the reassessment proceedings could not survive and the consequential assessment order was quashed.

Ratio Decidendi: For assessment years beginning on or before 01.04.2021, a notice under section 148 cannot be issued after expiry of the limitation that existed under the unamended section 149, and the first proviso to section 149(1) prevents the extended limitation under the amended regime from reviving a time-barred reopening.

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