Ashitkumar Satishchandra Patel Vs ITO (Gujarat High Court)
The Gujarat High Court adjudicated a writ petition filed under Article 226 of the Constitution challenging the validity of a notice issued under Section 148 of the Income Tax Act, 1961, for the Assessment Year 2016–17. The petitioner contended that the notice dated 30 August 2022 was invalid and time-barred. The case involved the interplay between the reassessment provisions under Section 148, the transitional framework introduced by the Finance Act, 2021 (which inserted Section 148A effective from 1 April 2021), and the time extensions granted under the Taxation and Other Laws (Relaxation of Certain Provisions) Ordinance, 2020 (TOLA).
Initially, a notice under Section 148 was issued in June 2021, during the extended period provided under TOLA. Pursuant to the Supreme Court’s decision in Union of India v. Ashish Agarwal (2022) 444 ITR 1 (SC), such notices were to be treated as show-cause notices under Section 148A(b) of the new regime. Subsequently, the Supreme Court in Union of India v. Rajeev Bansal (2024) 469 ITR 46 (SC) clarified that the validity of reassessment notices would depend upon the “surviving time” left as of 30 June 2021, the last date permissible under TOLA. Notices under Section 148 issued pursuant to Ashish Agarwal directions were required to be within this surviving time; those issued beyond it would be time-barred.
