“time barred assessment”

Reassessment proceedings initiated under Section 147 beyond four years from the end of the relevant assessment year are invalid unless the assessee failed to disclose fully and truly all material facts necessary for assessment. Without such failure, the notice issued under Section 148 is time-barred and without jurisdiction.

The exercise of power under Section 142(2A) of the Income Tax Act requires a pre-decisional hearing. The Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT) cannot examine the validity of such an order to contend that the assessment is time-barred.

Reassessment notices issued after April 1, 2021, for Assessment Year 2015-16 are time-barred. The relaxation provided by the Taxation and Other Laws (Relaxation and Amendment of Certain Provisions) Act, 2020, does not extend the period of limitation for such notices.

An assessment order is time-barred if the department fails to prove that the order was dispatched within the prescribed period of limitation. The burden lies on the department to make the dispatch date available from records to establish timely issuance.

An assessment cannot be reopened beyond four years from the end of the relevant assessment year unless the assessee failed to make a full and true disclosure of all material facts necessary for assessment.

A direction for special audit under Section 142(2A), issued near the expiry of the limitation period primarily to gain an extension of time or with instructions beyond the section's scope, is illegal, rendering the subsequent assessment time-barred.

Authorities are not at fault for following a less drastic procedure when it comes to search and seizure assessments and adhering to time limits.

An assessment order that is not served on the assessee before the assessment's time-barring date is considered non-est, meaning it is void and without legal effect.