Validity of reopening an assessment and the legality of issuing ...

Fresh reassessment notices challenged after completion of initial proceedings.

Case Laws     Income Tax

September 13, 2024

Validity of reopening an assessment and the legality of issuing a new Show Cause Notice u/s 148-A(b) after the conclusion of initial reassessment proceedings. The key points are: The respondents issued a Show Cause Notice u/s 148-A(b) on the premise that the Supreme Court's judgment in Ashish Agarwal requires all notices issued u/s 148 between April 1, 2021, and June 30, 2021, to be treated as notices u/s 148-A(b). However, the assessment proceedings in this case were already concluded on March 30, 2022. Subsequently, reassessment action was re-initiated on the same set of reasons via a Show Cause Notice dated June 2, 2022, u/s 148-A(b), leading to an order u/s 148-A(d) and a notice u/s 148 dated July 19, 2022. The High Court held that there was no justification for the respondents to issue fresh notices seeking to reopen the proceedings that had been concluded prior to the Ashish Agarwal judgment. The judgment does not mandate the reopening of completed assessments. Consequently, the impugned action for reassessment could not be sustained.

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