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Judgment
PER ANUBHAV SHARMA, JM:
This appeal is preferred by the assessee against the order dated 31.12.2025 of the Ld. National Faceless Appeal Centre (NFAC) Delhi (hereinafter referred as Ld. First Appellate Authority or in short Ld. ‘FAA’) in DIN & Order No: ITBA/NFAC/S/250/2025-26/1084002543(1) arising out of the assessment order dated 25.05.2023 u/s 147 r.w.s144 r.w.s 144B of the Income Tax Act, 1961 (hereinafter referred to as ‘the Act’) passed by Assessment Unit, Income Tax Department, for AY: 2015-16.
Heard and perused the records. The short issue arising for consideration is whether reassessment proceedings for Assessment Year 2015-16, originating from a notice issued under section 148 on 05.04.2021, can legally survive after the authoritative pronouncements of the Hon'ble Supreme Court in Hon'ble Apex Court in UOI v. Rajeev Bansal [Civil Appeal No. 8629 of 2024, vide its order dated 03-10-2024 and the subsequent judgments of the Hon'ble Delhi High Court and the Delhi Benches of the Tribunal holding that all notices issued on or after 01.04.2021 for Assessment Year 2015-16 are liable to be dropped.
The relevant facts are Notice was issued under Section 148 under the erstwhile reassessment provisions on 05.04.202. Pursuant to the judgment in Ashish Agarwal, (2022 SCC Online SC 543) the Assessing Officer treated the said notice as a deemed notice under Section 148A(b) and Information /material supplied and objections invited from assesse on 25.05.2022. Time granted for filing objections was up 10.06.2022 and reply was filed on 08.06.2022. Notice u/s 148A(b) and notice u/s 148 on issued 23.07.2022. The above chronology is borne out from the departmental records themselves. The notice dated 05.04.2021 specifically records that it has been issued under section 148 for Assessment Year 2015-16. Subsequently, by communication dated 25.05.2022, the Assessing Officer expressly states that in view of the judgment of the Hon'ble Supreme Court in Union of India v. Ashish Agarwal, the notice issued between 01.04.2021 and 30.06.2021 shall be treated as a notice under section 148A(b), and accordingly furnished the information/material relied upon while requiring the Appellant to submit its response. Thus, the reassessment proceedings admittedly originate from the notice dated 05.04.2021, which was issued after 01.04.2021. The controversy stands concluded by paragraph 19(f) of the judgment of the Hon'ble Supreme Court in Union of India v. Rajeev Bansal, (Supra) wherein the learned Additional Solicitor General, appearing on behalf of the Union of India, made the following categorical concession:
“The Revenue concedes that for the Assessment Year 2015-16, all notices issued on or after 1 April 2021 will have to be dropped asthey will not fall for completion during the period prescribed under TOLA.”
Thus the issue raised in the present appeal no longer survives for independent adjudication in the light of law now stands conclusively settled in Rajeev Bansal [spura]. Thus reassessment proceedings relating to Assessment Year 2015-16 initiated on the basis of notices issued on or after 01.04.2021 cannot legally survive. Corresponding ground are sustained. The appeal is allowed and impugned assessment order is quashed.