Lalit Gulati Vs ACIT (Delhi High Court)
Delhi High Court has set aside a reassessment notice issued by the Income Tax Department for Assessment Year (AY) 2015-16, ruling that the notice was time-barred. The court’s decision in the case of Lalit Gulati Vs Assistant Commissioner of Income Tax (ACIT) hinged on a concession made by the Revenue before the Supreme Court in a separate matter concerning the applicability of limitation periods under the revamped reassessment framework and the Taxation and other Laws (Relaxation and Amendment of Certain Provisions) Act, 2020 (TOLA).
The case before the Delhi High Court originated from a challenge filed by the petitioner, Mr. Lalit Gulati, against a notice dated July 23, 2022, issued under Section 148 of the Income Tax Act, 1961, initiating reassessment proceedings for AY 2015-16.
According to the court’s order, the petitioner had initially filed his return of income for AY 2015-16 on September 23, 2015. Subsequently, the Assessing Officer (AO) had issued a notice under Section 148 on April 5, 2021, seeking to reopen the assessment for the said assessment year. This notice was issued after March 31, 2021, the date from which a new regime for reassessment, incorporating procedures under Section 148A of the Act, came into effect. However, the April 5, 2021 notice was issued without following the mandatory procedure outlined in the newly introduced Section 148A, as it was based on the reassessment provisions that existed prior to the statutory changes effective from April 1, 2021.
