The assessee challenged the notice dated June 30, 2021 issued for the Assessment year 2014-15 is barred by limitation. Allowing the petition the Court held that no notice under section 148 shall be issued for the relevant assessment year, as per clause (b), if four years, but not more than six years, have elapsed from the end of the relevant assessment year unless the income chargeable to tax, which has escaped assessment, amounts to or is likely to amount to one lakh rupees or more for that year. The limitation of six years from the end of the relevant assessment year operated as the time limit in the old regime for issuance of notice under section 148 beyond which period, it was not competent for the Assessing Officer to issue notice for reassessment. This embargo continues in the new regime also. In view of the pandemic of March 2020 the Taxation and Other Laws (Relaxation and Amendment of Other Laws (Relaxation and Amendment of Certain Provisions) Act, 2020 was passed. Various notifications were issued from time to time extending the time line prescribed under section 149. The 2020 Act is a secondary legislation. It would not override the principal legislation the Finance Act, 2021. Hence all original notices under section 148 of the Act referable to the old regime and issued between April 1, 2021 and June 30, 2021 would stand beyond the prescribed permissible time limit of six years from the end of the assessment year 2013-14 and the assessment year 2014-15. Therefore, all such notices relating to the assessment year 2013-14 or the assessment year 2014-15 would be time barred as per the provisions of the Act as applicable in the old regime prior to April 1, 2021. Accordingly the notice dated June 30, 2021 issued by the Assessing Officer under section 148 of the Act, seeking to reopen the assessment in respect of assessment year 2014-15, and the order dated July 21, 2022 passed are quashed and set aside.(AY.2014-15)
Sunny Rashikbhai Laheri v ITO (2023)455 ITR 35/148 taxmann.com 438 (Guj)(HC)
S. 148A : Reassessment-Conducting inquiry, providing opportunity before issue of notice-Limitation-Amendments by Finance Act, 2021-Notice issued on 30-6-2021-Barred by limitation. [S. 147, 148, 148A(b), 148A(d), 149, The Taxation and Other Laws (Relaxation and Amendment of Other Laws (Relaxation and Amendment of Certain Provisions) Act, 2020, S. 3, Art. 226]