Guru Udyog Private Limited Vs ITO (Bombay High Court)
Limitation for issuance of notice u/s 148 – Surviving period under TOLA – Scope of new reassessment regime- Where the original notice under the old Section 148 was issued on 29-06-2021, the limitation under TOLA expired on 30-06-2021, leaving only 2 days of surviving limitation.
Whether a notice issued under Section 148 on 30.07.2022 for AY 2014-15 was barred by limitation, considering the “surviving limitation period” under TOLA and the mechanism laid down by the Supreme Court in: Union of India v. Ashish Agarwal and Union of India v. Rajeev Bansal
Background of the Reassessment Dispute
The petitioner company had filed its return of income for AY 2014-15 on 29 November 2014 declaring income of ₹5,47,060. The case was selected for scrutiny and an assessment order under Section 143(3) of the Income-tax Act, 1961 was passed on 19 December 2016. Thus, the assessment had attained finality under the normal assessment procedure.
Subsequently, the Assessing Officer issued a notice under Section 148 dated 29 June 2021 seeking to reopen the assessment. This notice was issued under the old reassessment regime existing prior to the amendments introduced by the Finance Act, 2021, which substituted Sections 147 to 151 and introduced the new procedure under Section 148A.
