Yogeshkumar Kasturji Prapapati Vs ITO (ITAT Ahmedabad)
Section 148: Late PCIT Approval Cannot Revive Time-Barred Reopening, Rules Ahmedabad ITAT
Reassessment Quashed for Crossing the Surviving Limitation Period
The Ahmedabad ITAT has held that the time available for passing an order under Section 148A(d) cannot extend the outer limitation prescribed under Section 149 for issuing a reassessment notice. Similarly, approval obtained from the Principal Commissioner after the limitation period has expired cannot revive an otherwise time-barred reopening.
Applying the Supreme Court’s decision in Union of India v. Rajeev Bansal, the Tribunal quashed the reassessment for Assessment Year 2017-18. It found that the consequential notice under Section 148, issued on 28 July 2022, was beyond the surviving period available to the Assessing Officer.
The assessee’s appeal was consequently allowed, without examining the merits of the ₹5,90,000 addition under Section 69A.
Background of the Dispute
The assessee had not filed an original return of income for Assessment Year 2017-18. In response to the notice under Section 148, he filed a return declaring income of ₹2,87,588.
The Assessing Officer completed the reassessment on 28 May 2023, making an addition of ₹5,90,000 as unexplained money under Section 69A. The Commissioner of Income Tax (Appeals), National Faceless Appeal Centre, dismissed the assessee’s appeal by an order dated 26 February 2026.
