Reassessment approval beyond three years needs the specified authority, while the proviso applies prospectively only.

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....Under the substituted reassessment regime effective from 1 April 2021, issuance of a notice under section 148 and an order under section 148A(d) required prior approval from the specified authority in section 151. Where more than three years had elapsed from the end of the relevant assessment year, approval had to come from the higher authority identified in section 151(ii); approval by a Principal Commissioner was insufficient. The proviso allowing exclusion of time spent under section 148A(b), inserted by the Finance Act 2023, was treated as prospective. On that basis, the reopening was held invalid.....