ACIT Vs Amit Jain (Supreme Court of India)
The Supreme Court of India has disposed of the Special Leave Petitions in the case of ACIT Vs Amit Jain, citing its earlier judgment from October 3, 2024, in Union of India & Ors. vs. Rajeev Bansal. This means the present case is governed by the principles and reasons established in the Rajeev Bansal judgment. Consequently, the revenue’s petitions have been closed. The Court has directed assessing officers to address any objections in line with the law laid down in the Rajeev Bansal case. Furthermore, assessees who remain dissatisfied after the assessing officers’ decisions retain the right to pursue all available legal remedies, with the exception of issues definitively settled by the Supreme Court in the aforementioned judgment.
Supreme Court’s landmark judgment in Union of India & Ors. vs. Rajeev Bansal, delivered on October 3, 2024, decisively addressed the validity of reassessment notices issued under the Income Tax Act during the transition period following the introduction of the Finance Act, 2021. The ruling centered on harmonizing the newly substituted provisions of the Income Tax Act with the extensions granted under the Taxation and Other Laws (Relaxation and Amendment of Certain Provisions) Act, 2020 (TOLA). The Court held that TOLA’s non-obstante clause overrides Section 149 of the new reassessment regime, thereby validating the extended timelines for issuing reassessment notices under Section 148, particularly for actions falling between March 20, 2020, and March 31, 2021. Crucially, the judgment clarified that TOLA also extended the time for obtaining necessary sanctions under Section 151 and established that the period during which proceedings were delayed due to the pandemic and legal challenges must be excluded when calculating the limitation period under Section 149. This judgment resolves widespread litigation, providing essential clarity on the application of limitation periods and procedural requirements for reassessment proceedings during the pandemic era.
