Budget 2015- Simplification of approval regime for issue of notice for re-assessment under section 148 of the Income Tax Act,1961
Section 151 of the Act provides for sanction from certain authorities before issue of notice for reassessment of income under section 148. Under certain specified circumstances, the Assessing Officer is required to obtain sanction before issue of notice under section 148. Section 151 specifies different sanctioning authorities based on- (i) whether scrutiny under sub-section (3) of section 143 or section 147 has been made earlier or not, (ii) whether notice is proposed to be issued within or after four years from the end of relevant assessment year, and (iii) the rank of the Assessing Officer proposing to issue notice.
To bring simplicity, it is proposed to provide that no notice under section 148 shall be issued by an assessing officer upto four years from the end of relevant assessment year without the approval of Joint Commissioner and beyond four years from the end of relevant assessment year without the approval of the Principal Chief Commissioner or Chief Commissioner or Principal Commissioner or Commissioner.
This amendment will take effect from 1st day of June, 2015.
Clause 35 of the Bill seeks to amend section 151 of the Income-tax Act relating to sanction for issue of notice.
The existing provisions contained in section 151 of the Act provides for sanction from certain authorities before issue of notice under section 148. The section specifies different sanctioning authorities for the cases where earlier assessment has been made under sub-section (3) of section 143 or section 147 and othercases (where no assessment has been so made). Requirement of sanction are also dependent on whether notice is proposed to be issued within or after four years from the end of relevant assessment year. The rank of the Assessing Officer proposing to issue such notice is also relevant to decide whose sanction is required.
It is proposed to amend the said section so as to provide that no notice shall be issued under section 148 by an Assessing Officer, after the expiry of a period of four years from the end of the relevant assessment year, unless the Principal Chief Commissioner or Chief Commissioner or Principal Commissioner or Commissioner is satisfied, on the reasons recorded by the Assessing Officer, that it is a fit case for the issue of such notice. It is further proposed that in any other case, no notice shall be issued under section 148 by an Assessing Officer, who is below the rank of Joint Commissioner, unless the Joint Commissioner is satisfied on the reasons recorded by such Assessing Officer that it is a fit case for the issue of such notice.
This amendment will take effect from 1st day of June, 2015.
35. Substitution of new section for section 151
Sanction for issue of notice.
For section 151 of the Income-tax Act, the following section shall be substituted with effect from the 1st day of June, 2015, namely:—
“151. (1) No notice shall be issued under section 148 by an Assessing Officer, after the expiry of a period of four years from the end of the relevant assessment year, unless the Principal Chief Commissioner or Chief Commissioner or Principal Commissioner or Commissioner is satisfied, on the reasons recorded by the Assessing Officer, that it is a fit case for the issue of such notice.
(2) In a case other than a case falling under sub-section (1), no notice shall be issued under section 148 by an Assessing Officer, who is below the rank of Joint Commissioner, unless the Joint Commissioner is satisfied, on the reasons recorded by such Assessing Officer, that it is a fit case for the issue of such notice.
(3) For the purposes of sub-section (1) and sub-section (2), the Principal Chief Commissioner or Chief Commissioner or the Principal Commissioner or Commissioner or the Joint Commissioner, as the case may be, being satisfied on the reasons recorded by the Assessing Officer about fitness of a case for the issue of notice under section 148, need not issue such notice himself.”.
