Swami Vivekanand College Vs ITO (ITAT Mumbai)
Reassessment Notice u/s 148 for AY 2015-16 Held Time-Barred—Entire Proceedings Quashed
The Mumbai ITAT (G Bench) allowed the appeal of Swami Vivekanand College for AY 2015-16 and quashed the reassessment proceedings in entirety, holding that the notice issued under section 148 on 13.04.2022 was barred by limitation.
The Tribunal held that:
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For AY 2015-16, under the old reassessment regime, the outer time limit to issue notice u/s 148 expired on 31.03.2022.
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The Taxation and Other Laws (Relaxation and Amendment of Certain Provisions) Act, 2020 (TOLA) does not extend limitation beyond 31.03.2022 for AY 2015-16, as clarified by the Supreme Court in Union of India v. Rajeev Bansal.
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The Bombay High Court in Cherian Nallathu Abraham Annamma and several coordinate bench decisions have consistently held that notices issued after 31.03.2022 for AY 2015-16 are invalid.
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Since the notice u/s 148 itself was void ab initio, all consequential proceedings, including the assessment order, automatically fail in law.
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The issue being purely legal and jurisdictional, the additional ground challenging limitation was rightly admitted and decided at the threshold.
Outcome:
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Notice u/s 148 and reassessment order quashed as time-barred.
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Appeal allowed on jurisdictional ground; all other grounds left open as academic.
FULL TEXT OF THE ORDER OF ITAT MUMBAI
