| Question And Answer | |
|---|---|
| Subject: | Validity of Notice u/s 148A |
| Category: | Income-Tax |
| Querist: | PARAS CHHAJED |
| Answered by: | Advocate Shashi Ashok Bekal |
| Tags: | computation of days, Notice, Reassessment |
| Date: | March 21, 2022 |
A notice calling for information u/s 148A of the Income Tax Act, 1961 is issued on 17.03.2022 giving time to respond by 23.03.2022. The Act provides for notice of minimum 7 days and maximum 30 days. Please advise whether the notice mentioned above is valid in law as it included both the days i.e. date of issue and date of compliance while computing 7 days time. Kindly also advise whether the assessee should comply to the notice by 23.03.2022 and submit details or should challenge teh validity of the notice. Thanks
The same is a debatable issue, while some argue a day is a span of 24 hours, others consider that a day does not have to be a whole day. However, the assessee must raise this issue in their objection.
Reliance should be place on the decision of the Hon’ble Bombay High Court in the case of CIT v. Ekbal & Co. [1945] 13 ITR 154 (BOM.) where it was held that “within thirty days” is within two points of time, one at which period begins and other at which it expires. There must be an interval of not less than thirty days and that means thirty days clear and that period must continue beyond expiration of stated time. Therefore, the notice issued to the assessee was invalid.