IBIBO Group Private Limited Vs ACIT (Delhi High Court)
Delhi High Court ruled in favor of IBIBO Group Private Limited by quashing the income tax reassessment proceedings for the Assessment Year (AY) 2015-16. The proceedings in question had been initiated under Section 148 of the Income Tax Act, 1961, following a notice issued on 23rd July 2022. IBIBO Group filed a writ petition challenging the reassessment action and the associated notice. The petition primarily contested the validity of the reassessment, and the court considered a significant legal concession made by the revenue before the Supreme Court in the case of Union of India vs. Rajeev Bansal.
This concession indicated that for notices issued between April 1, 2021, and June 30, 2021, concerning the assessment years 2013-2014 to 2017-2018, reassessment notices would be governed by the Taxation and Other Laws (Relaxation and Amendment of Certain Provisions) Act, 2020 (TOLA). The provisions of TOLA, in particular, affect the timelines for the issuance of such notices. For AY 2015-16, the court acknowledged the revenue’s concession that any reassessment notice issued after April 1, 2021, would be invalid, as it fell outside the prescribed time limit under the TOLA. As a result, the court concluded that the reassessment proceedings for AY 2015-16 could not stand.
