Reassessment Beyond Six-Year Limit for Income Under ₹50 Lakh: ITAT Quashes Notice and Reassessment Order [Read Order]
The reassessment involved income of Rs. 16,27,546/-, below the ₹50 lakh threshold, and violated section 149(1)(b) of the Act
Reassessment, Income Tax, Notice
Reassessment, Income Tax, Notice
The Kolkata Bench of Income Tax Appellate Tribunal ( ITAT) quashed the notice and reassessment order, holding that the reassessment beyond six-year limit for income under ₹50 lakh was invalid.
Amiya Shankar Ghar, appellant-assessee, had his income tax case for AY 2011-12 reopened by the Assessing Officer under section 147 via a notice issued on 27.7.2022. The assessee did not file a return in response. Later, a section 142(1) notice was issued on 10.1.2023 seeking clarification on property sale transactions amounting to Rs. 1,46,47,920/-, of which the assessee’s share was about Rs. 16,27,546/-.
The reopening notice was issued after more than six years from the end of the assessment year, allegedly breaching section 149(1)(b). The Commissioner of Income Tax (Appeals)[CIT(A)] dismissed the appeal, noting that the assessee had not submitted written arguments or participated in the appellate proceedings.
A delay of 277 days occurred in filing the appeal. The assessee filed a condonation petition on 2.7.2025, explaining that the appeal order, received on 14.6.2024, was handed to Advocate Mr. Nishakar Panda for filing. The assessee assumed it would be filed within the due date.
On 20.6.2025, after receiving a penalty notice under section 271(1)(c), the assessee checked the appeal status and learned from the advocate that the order had been misplaced. The delay resulted from the advocate’s oversight, and the assessee requested that it not be penalized.
The departmental counsel opposed the petition. After reviewing the submissions, the authority found reasonable cause for the delay and condoned the 277-day delay, admitting the appeal for hearing.
A single member bench comprising Rajesh Kumar ( Accountant Member) after reviewing the submissions and the record, including the section 148 notice dated 27.7.2022, observed that the reassessment was initiated more than six years after the end of the relevant assessment year, violating section 149(1)(b) of the Act.
Since the income sought to be added was only Rs. 16,27,546/-, below the ₹50 lakh threshold for reassessment, the tribunal held the reopening to be invalid. It set aside the CIT(A)’s order and quashed both the section 148 notice and the reassessment order issued under it.
Accordingly the appeal was allowed.
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