ITAT Mumbai Allows Appeal, Quashes Reassessment Order Against Legal Heir in Dilip Dalpatlal Mehta Case Due to Expiry of Limitation Period
In a significant ruling concerning the procedural aspects and time limitations governing income tax reassessment proceedings, the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT), Mumbai, has allowed the appeal filed by Kalpana Dilip Mehta, the legal heir of the late Dilip Dalpatlal Mehta, against the order dated January 7, 2025, passed by the Commissioner of Income-tax (Appeals) – 51, Mumbai, for the assessment year 2007-08. The central contention of the appeal revolved around the legality and validity of the reassessment proceedings initiated and finalized by the Assessing Officer, particularly concerning the adherence to the statutory limitation periods prescribed under the Income Tax Act, 1961.
The genesis of the reassessment proceedings lay in information purportedly received from the French government, indicating that the deceased assessee, Dilip Dalpatlal Mehta, was maintaining a foreign bank account with HSBC Geneva in Switzerland. The initial return of income for the assessment year 2007-08 was filed by the assessee on December 7, 2007, declaring a total income of Nil. Subsequently, based on the aforementioned foreign information, the Assessing Officer initiated reassessment proceedings by issuing a notice under Section 148 of the Act on March 30, 2012.
