Geeco Enercon Private Limited Vs DCIT (Madras High Court)
Summary: The Madras High Court allowed the writ petition filed by the petitioner challenging the order dated 31.08.2024 passed under Section 148A(d) of the Income Tax Act, 1961 and the consequential notice dated 31.08.2024 issued under Section 148 of the Income Tax Act, 1961. The dispute concerned Assessment Year 2015-2016 and the limitation applicable to reassessment proceedings after the amended reassessment provisions came into force with effect from 01.04.2021.
The Court noted that under the amended Section 148 read with Section 149, the limitation was three years and ten years from the end of the relevant assessment year, subject to the first proviso to Section 149. The first proviso curtailed issuance of a notice under Section 148 under the new regime where the limitation under the old regime had already expired. The Court recorded that under the old regime the four-year and six-year limitation periods would have expired on 31.03.2020 and 31.03.2022, respectively.
In the present case, a notice under Section 148 had already been issued on 04.02.2021 under the old regime and this eventually culminated in an assessment order dated 25.03.2022 under Section 143(3) read with Section 147, as the provisions stood prior to 01.04.2021. Thereafter, a fresh notice under Section 148A(b) was issued on 23.08.2024.
