Invocation of the extended limitation period under Section 73(1)...

Invocation of the extended limitation period under Section 73(1) of the Finance Act, 1994 was held unsustainable because the show-cause notice did not plead or disclose the requisite jurisdictional ingredients (such as suppression or wilful misstatement) and lacked supporting material. Limitation was treated as a jurisdictional fact, requiring satisfaction of both factual and legal elements before extended limitation could be assumed. Since the notice was cryptic, non-speaking, and unreasoned, the authority could not lawfully assume jurisdiction by invoking Section 73(1). Consequently, the show-cause notice and all proceedings pursuant to it were quashed, and the petition was allowed. - HC