Delhi HC quashes reassessment notices sent to 1,350 taxpayers under old regime

Around 500 similar petitions were listed for hearing before the Delhi HC for Dec 16, 2021 (File image: PTI)

The Delhi High Court on December 15 quashed reassessment notices sent to around 1,350 taxpayers by the Income Tax Department under the old tax regime.

The order, which is in favour of the taxpayers who had approached the court, was issued by a Division Bench, comprising Justices Manmohan and Navin Chawla.

The I-T department had issued the reassessment notices after April 1, 2021. Subsequent to this date, the new tax regime under the Finance Act, 2021, had come into effect.

In the new tax regime, it is mandatory for the department to provide a hearing to the taxpayers before issuing reassessment notices to them. Further, the notices can be sent only for reassessing records up to three years or 10 years. On the other hand, the old regime allowed taxmen to issue reassessment notices for a period of four, six, or 16 years.

The taxpayers who approached the Delhi High Court had filed a writ petition after they were issued notices under Section 148 of the old tax regime. The I-T department had alleged improper declaration of income, and decided to issue the notices to them, CNBC TV 18 reported.

The petitioners had argued that the reassessment notices lacked legal validity as the taxmen did not follow the new procedure as laid down in the Finance Act, 2021, the report said.

The news channel said that around 500 similar petitions were listed for hearing before the high court for December 16. Across the country, around 3,000 similar petitions, which challenge the reassessment notices, are pending for hearing before various high courts.