Grid Solutions SAS Vs ACIT & Anr. (Delhi High Court)
The petitioner challenged reassessment proceedings initiated for the assessment year 2019–20 and sought quashing of the notices issued under Sections 148A(1), 148A(3), and 148 of the Income Tax Act, 1961. The reliefs sought included setting aside the notice dated 30 March 2025 under Section 148A(1), the order dated 30 June 2025 passed under Section 148A(3), and the reassessment notice dated 30 June 2025 under Section 148. The petitioner also sought interim protection pending disposal of the writ petition.
During earlier proceedings, counsel for the Revenue requested time to obtain instructions. At the subsequent hearing, the Revenue informed the Court that the reassessment notice under Section 148 had been generated in the system on 30 June 2025 at 21:14:46 and digitally signed at 21:16:15 on the same day. However, due to what the Revenue described as a technical glitch, the notice was uploaded to the assessee’s e-filing portal only on 1 July 2025 at 00:48 hours. Additionally, the copy of the notice annexed to the petition reflected that it was sent on 1 July 2025 at 09:18 hours.
The petitioner argued that, based on the Revenue’s own instructions, the notice was despatched on 1 July 2025, a date falling after the expiry of the statutory limitation period ending on 30 June 2025. Therefore, the initiation of reassessment proceedings was time-barred. Counsel for the petitioner relied on the Delhi High Court’s decision in Suman Jeet Agarwal v. Income Tax Officer, which considered similar questions concerning the meaning of the term “issued” for notices under Section 149.
