TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
2026 (9) TMI 2048
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....tion 148A(d) of the Income Tax Act, 1961 (for short "the Act"); the notice issued under Section 148 dated 29th July 2022; and the subsequent order disposing of the Petitioner's objections dated 17th February 2026. The Assessment Year in question is A.Y 2017-18. 3. In the facts of the present case, the Petitioner has e-filed its Return of Income for the Assessment Year 2017-18 on 6th January 2017, declaring his total income as Nil. Initially, Respondent No. 1 had issued a Notice under Section 148 [under the erstwhile law of reassessment] on 1st April 2021 i.e. three years after the end of A.Y. 2017-18. Subsequently because of the judgment of the Hon'ble Supreme Court in the case of Union of India v. Ashish Agarwal [(2022) 444 ITR 1 (SC)] ....
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....e Principal Chief Commissioner or the Principal Director General or the Chief Commissioner or the Director General. It is on this basis that it is contended that the notice issued under Section 148 is invalid in law. 5. Ms. Agarwal, the learned counsel appearing on behalf of the Petitioner, has submitted that the impugned order passed under Section 148A(d) dated 29th July 2022, and the consequential notice under Section 148 dated 29th July 2022 was passed beyond three years from the end of the relevant A.Y. 2017-18. In such circumstances, as per the provisions of Section 151(ii) i.e. when more than three years have elapsed from the end of the relevant assessment year, the specified authority for obtaining the approval was either the Prin....
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....ly stated that appropriate orders be passed. 8. We have heard the learned counsel for the parties and also perused the papers and proceedings to the above Writ Petition. In the facts of the present case, Respondent No.4 has granted the sanction for issuance of the Notice under Section 148 of the Act on 28th July 2022. Since the Notice under Section 148 issued to the Petitioner is dated 29th July 2022 a period of more than 3 years have elapsed from the end of A.Y.2017-18. In such a scenario the authority competent to grant a sanction was the authority mentioned in Section 151(ii) of the Act. For the sake of convenience, Section 151, as amended by Finance Act, 2021, is reproduced below: "Sanction for issue of notice. 151.....
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....quashed and set aside. 10. We are supported in our view by the decision of the Hon'ble Supreme Court in Rajeev Bansal (supra). The Hon'ble Supreme Court, in Rajeev Bansal (supra), has in paragraph 78, clearly held that for A.Y. 2017-18 (which is also the relevant Assessment year in the present Writ Petition) the authority specified under Section 151(i) can grant sanction only upto 30th June 2021. Paragraph 78 of Rajeev Bansal (supra) reads thus:- "78. For example, the three-year time limit for the assessment year 2017-2018 falls for completion on March 31, 2021. It falls during the time period of March 20, 2020 and March 31, 2021, contemplated under section 3(1) of the Taxation and other Laws (Relaxation and Amendment of Certain....