Gujarat HC quashed Section 148 notices for AY 2013-2014 & 2014-2015

By CA Milind Wadhwani Income Tax Featured , Judiciary February 27, 2023

TaxGuru Citation: 2023 taxguru.in 1316
Case Name: Keenara Industries Private Limited Vs ITO (Gujarat High Court)
Appeal Number: Only available for paid members
Date of Judgement/Order: Only available for paid members
Courts: All High Courts, Gujarat High Court

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Keenara Industries Private Limited Vs ITO (Gujarat High Court)

HC held that substituted provisions of sections 147 to 151 shall be applicable w.e.f. 01.04.2021, and as per First Proviso to Section 149, limitation as specified under unamended provision as it stood prior to 01.04.2021, shall be applicable. As per unamended provision prescribing limitation, no notice can be issued under section 148, if six years have elapsed from the end of the relevant assessment year. For assessment year 2013-14, six years had ended on 31.03.2020 and for assessment year 2014-15, six years had ended on 31.03.2021. Had there been no amendment in Section 149, TOLA and through its delegated legislation by way of Notifications could have extended the time for ‘issuance of notice’. However in view of express language of 1st proviso to Section 149(1), legislative mandate required that no notice could be issued under the new provision, if such notice could not be issued at that time on account of being beyond the time specified under the said section as it stood before the commencement of the Finance Act 2021, i.e a period of six years. Moreover, in view of decision of Hon’ble Supreme Court in case of Ashish Agarwal (Supra), the notices issued to the respective assessees under section 148 shall be deemed to be notices under section 148A(b) of the Act as substituted by Finance Act 2021. In all the petitions of batch I and batch II, the notices under Section 148A (by deeming fiction) was issued, between the period 01.04.2021 to 30.06.2021 (i.e after 31.03.2021), wherein six years had elapsed from end of the relevant assessment year and therefore they are time barred and the petitions of Batch I- for A.Y. 2013-2014 and Batch-II for A.Y.2014-2015 deserves to be allowed. Read SC Judgment in this case: SC Applies Rajeev Bansal, Directs AO to Decide Reassessment Objections

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