Section 90 - Insertion of new section 17A - Taxation Laws (Amendment) Act, 1975

90. Insertion of new section 17A. After section 17 of the Wealth-tax Act, the following section shall be inserted, namely: 17A. Time limit for completion of assessment and reassessment. (1) No order of assessment shall be made under section 16 at any time after the expiration of a period of (a) four years commencing on and from the 1st day of April, 1975 or one year from the date of the filing of a return or a revised return under section 15, whichever is later, where the assessment year is an assessment year commencing before that date; (b) four years from the end of the assessment year in which the net wealth was first assessable, or one year from the date of the filing of a return or a revised return under section 15, whichever is later, where the assessment year is an assessment year commencing on or after the 1st day of April, 1975. (2) No order of assessment or re-assessment shall be made under section 17, (a) where any proceeding for an assessment or re-assessment is pending on the 1st day of April, 1975, at any time after the expiration of a period of four years commencing on and from that date; (b) where the assessment or re-assessment is to be made in a case falling within clause (a) of sub-section (1) of section 17 for which a notice has been served under that sub-section on or after the 1st day of April, 1975, at any time after the expiration of a period of four years from the end of the assessment year in which such notice was served; (c) where the assessment or re-assessment is to be made in a case falling within clause (b) of sub-section (1) of section 17 for which a notice has been served under that sub-section on or after the 1st day of April, 1975, after the expiration of a period of (i) four years from the end of the assessment year in which the net wealth was first assessable, or , (ii) one year from the date of service of such notice, whichever period expires later. (3) Notwithstanding anything contained in sub-sections (1) and (2), an order of fresh assessment in pursuance of an order passed on or after the 1st day of April, 1975, under section 23, section 24 or section 25, setting aside or cancelling an assessment, may be made at any time before the expiry of four years from the end of the financial year in which the order under section 23 or section 24 is received by the Commissioner or, as the case may be, the order under section 25 is passed by the Commissioner. (4) The provisions of sub-sections (1) and (2) shall not apply to the assessment or re-assessment made on the assessee or any other person in consequence of, or to give effect to, any finding or direction contained in an order under section 23, section 24, section 25, section 27 or section 29 or in an order of any court in a proceeding otherwise than by way of appeal or reference under this Act, and such assessment or re-assessment, may, subject to the provisions of subsection (3), be completed at any time. Explanation 1. In computing the period of limitation for the purposes of this section (i) the time taken in re-opening the whole or any part of the proceeding or in giving an opportunity to the assessee to be re-heard under the proviso to section 39, or (ii) the period during which the assessment proceeding is stayed by an order or injunction of any court, or (iii) in a case where an application made before the Wealth-tax Settlement Commission under section 22C is rejected by it or is not allowed to be proceeded with by it, the period commencing from the date on which such application is made and ending with the date on which the order under sub-section (1) of section 22D is received by the Commissioner under sub-section (2) of that section, shall be excluded. Explanation 2. Where, by an order referred to in sub-section (4), any asset is excluded from the net wealth of one person and held to be the asset of another person, then, an assessment in respect of such asset on such other person shall, for the purposes of sub-section (2) of section 17 and this section, be deemed to be one made in consequence of, or to give effect to, any finding or direction contained in the said order, provided such other person was given an opportunity of being heard before the said order was passed. .