Bangamata Tie-up Private Limited Vs ITO (ITAT Kolkata)
Reopening Beyond Limitation — ITAT Kolkata Quashes 148 Notice for A.Y. 2015-16 Following Rajeev Bansal (SC)
Kolkata ITAT allowed the appeal of Bangamata Tie-Up Pvt. Ltd., holding that the reopening of assessment u/s 147 was barred by limitation in light of the Supreme Court’s ruling in Union of India v. Rajeev Bansal [2024] 469 ITR 46 (SC).
Facts
The AO reopened the case based on information from the Insight Portal that the Assessee had received ₹2.17 crore from companies later struck off by the ROC, treating the credits as accommodation entries.
The notice u/s 148 was issued on 31.07.2022, following the Ashish Agarwal judgment (SC, 04.05.2022), and assessment was completed u/s 147 r.w.s. 144B on 19.05.2023, adding ₹2.17 crore. The CIT(A), NFAC upheld the addition.
Assessee’s Argument
The Assessee raised an additional legal ground that the notice u/s 148 was time-barred, as the benefit of TOLA (Taxation and Other Laws – Relaxation Act, 2020) was not available for A.Y. 2015-16 beyond 31.03.2021.
Relying on Rajeev Bansal (SC), Ibibo Group Pvt. Ltd. (Del HC), Orbit Financial Capital (ITAT Mumbai), Coplama Products Pvt. Ltd. (ITAT Kolkata), and Deepak Steel & Power Ltd. (SC, 2025),* it was argued that any reopening notice for A.Y. 2015-16 issued after 31.03.2021 is invalid & without jurisdiction.
