Mitra Biswas Vs ITO (Bombay High Court)
The writ petition challenged the validity of a notice dated 14 April 2022 issued under Section 148 of the Income Tax Act, 1961, along with the consequential assessment order dated 19 February 2024 and subsequent recovery notices for Assessment Year (A.Y.) 2015–16.
The case originated from a show cause notice issued under Section 148A(b) on 28 March 2022, alleging that income chargeable to tax had escaped assessment in relation to an immovable property acquired by the petitioner. The petitioner contended that she was unaware of these proceedings and therefore did not respond. Subsequently, an order under Section 148A(d) was passed on 14 April 2022, concluding that the case was fit for issuance of notice under Section 148, which was accordingly issued.
The reassessment proceedings culminated in an assessment order under Section 147 read with Sections 144 and 144B, making additions under Section 69 on account of short-term capital gains. A demand notice under Section 156 was also issued, followed by recovery notices.
At the outset, the petitioner’s counsel acknowledged that an appeal had already been filed before the Commissioner of Income Tax (Appeals) in January 2026. However, it was argued that the jurisdictional issue raised in the writ petition was conclusively settled in favour of the petitioner by the Supreme Court judgment in Union of India v. Rajeev Bansal. It was pointed out that the Revenue had conceded before the Supreme Court that for A.Y. 2015–16, all notices issued under Section 148 on or after 1 April 2021 would have to be dropped as they would not fall within the period prescribed under the Taxation and Other Laws (Relaxation and Amendment of Certain Provisions) Act, 2020 (TOLA). Accordingly, the impugned notice dated 14 April 2022 was argued to be time-barred.
