TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
2026 (5) TMI 324
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....s initiated u/s 147 of the act and thereby further erred in upholding the validity of the reopening proceedings as well as approving the proposed addition of Rs. 7,10,000/-u/s 69C of the act and directing the learned A.O. accordingly- 4. On the facts and in the circumstances of the case and in law, the learned A.O. erred in charging an amount of Rs. 4,49,279l- as interest u/s 234A of the act. 5. On the facts and in the circumstances of the case and in law, the learned A.O. erred in charging an amount of Rs. 5,57,539/- as interest u/s 234B of the act. The appellant craves leave to add, alter, amend and/or delete any or all of the grounds of appeal." 2. Brief facts of the case are as under:- The assessee is a non-resident individual and a resident of United Arab Emirates. For the year under consideration, the assessee did not file any return of income, as no income was claimed to be taxable in India. Subsequently, the Ld. AO initiated proceedings u/s 147 by issuing notice u/s 148A(b) dated 02/02/2024, calling upon the assessee to show cause as to why notice u/s 148 should not be issued on the basis of information contained in the annexure thereto. The....
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....er the old regime was dated 02/02/2024, to reopen the assessment. Thereafter, the said notice was treated as a deemed notice as per the decision of the Hon'ble Supreme Court in the case of Union of India vs Ashish Agrawal, reported in (2022) 444 ITR 1. The Revenue after following the procedure as per the new regime u/s 148A issued notice u/s 148 of the Act on 27/03/2024, which was approved by the Principal Commissioner of Income-tax-3, Ahmedabad, wherein the reasons recorded states that income chargeable to tax amounting to Rs.7,10,000/- had escaped assessment for the year under consideration. 4.3. The Ld.AR submitted that the notice issued under section 148A(b) and the order passed u/s 148A(d) of the Act are beyond three years and that the income escaping assessment is observed to be Rs.7,10,000/-. 4.4. The Ld. AR submitted that in present facts, the appropriate authority who has to approve the issuance of notice u/s 148 of the new regime, as per section 151 of the Act, would be the Principal Chief Commissioner of Income Tax or the Chief Commissioner of Income Tax. The Ld. AR placed reliance on the decision of the Hon'ble Supreme Court in the case of Union of India v. Rajeev....
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....of four years from the end of the relevant assessment year Principal Chief Commissioner or Chief Commissioner or Principal Commissioner or Commissioner Section 151(i) of the new regime Three years or less than three years from the end of the relevant assessment year Principal Commissioner or Principal Director or Commissioner or Director Section 151(ii) of the new regime More than three years have elapsed from the end of the relevant assessment year Principal Chief Commissioner or Principal Director General or Chief Commissioner or Director General 74. The above table indicates that the specified authority is directly co- related to the time when the notice is issued. This plays out as follows under the old regime: (i) If income escaping assessment was less than Rupees one lakh: (a) a reassessment notice could be issued under section 148 within four years after obtaining the approval of the Joint Commissioner; and (b) no notice could be issued after the expiry of four years; and (ii) If income escaping was more than Rupees one lakh: (a) a reassessment notice could be issued within four years after obtaining ....
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.... conditions due to the difficulties that arose during the COVID-19 pandemic. Section 3(1) of TOLA relaxes the time limit for compliance with actions that fall for completion from 20th March 2020 to 31st March 2021. TOLA will accordingly extend the time limit for the grant of sanction by the authority specified under section 151. The test to determine whether TOLA will apply to Section 151 of the new regime is this: if the time limit of three years from the end of an assessment year falls between 20th March 2020 and 31st March 2021, then the specified authority under section 151(i) has an extended time till 30th June 2021 to grant approval. In the case of Section 151 of the old regime, the test is: if the time limit of four years from the end of an assessment year falls between 20th March 2020 and 31st March 2021, then the specified authority under section 151(2) has time till 31st March 2021 to grant approval. The time limit for Section 151 of the old regime expires on 31st March 2021 because the new regime comes into effect on 1st April 2021. 78. For example, the three year time limit for assessment year 2017- 2018 falls for completion on 31st March 2021. It fall....
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....ther, it directed the assessing officers to issue a notice under Section 148 of the new regime "after following the procedure as required under section 148-A." Although this Court waived off the requirement of obtaining prior approval under section 148A(a) and Section 148A(b), it did not waive the requirement for Section 148A(d) and Section 148. Therefore, the assessing officer was required to obtain prior approval of the specified authority according to Section 151 of the new regime before passing an order under section 148A(d) or issuing a notice under section 148. These notices ought to have been issued following the time limits specified under section 151 of the new regime read with TOLA, where applicable." 5.3. On a bare reading of the above extract from the decision, it is noted that under the new provisions of Section 148A introduced by the Finance Act, 2021, the Ld. AO is required to obtain prior approval or sanction of the specified authority at four stages, namely:- a. Section 148(a)-to conduct any enquiry, if required, with respect to the information which suggests that the income chargeable to tax has escaped assessment; b. Section 148A(b)-to provid....