Gigantic Mercantile Pvt. Limited Vs ACIT (Bombay High Court)
The Bombay High Court in Gigantic Mercantile Pvt. Ltd. vs. ACIT examined the legality of reassessment proceedings initiated under Section 148 of the Income-tax Act, 1961 for the Assessment Year (AY) 2016–17. The petitioner challenged the reassessment on several grounds, including the validity of the notice issued under Section 148A(b), the order passed under Section 148A(d), and the consequential notice under Section 148. The petitioner also disputed the sanction granted under Section 151 for the reopening of the assessment.
The reassessment notice dated 29 July 2022 was preceded by an earlier notice dated 30 June 2021, which proposed reopening of the assessment on the ground of escaped income. The petitioner had filed a return on 9 December 2021 and requested a copy of the recorded reasons and the sanction obtained for reopening. A subsequent notice under Section 142(1) was issued on 3 March 2022 by the National Faceless Assessment Centre (NFAC), calling for explanations regarding various transactions. The petitioner again sought the reasons for reassessment on 4 March 2022, contending that since the notice was issued after 1 April 2021, it was governed by the amended provisions, and reliance on the old regime rendered the proceedings illegal.
