Sahil Jaiswal
The recent Supreme Court ruling on tax reassessment notices has significant consequences for around 90,000 taxpayers. The verdict upholds the validity of reassessment notices issued by the Income Tax Department after April 1, 2021, even as legal challenges questioned their legitimacy.
This legal battle began when several high courts invalidated these notices, arguing that the older provisions of the Income Tax Act had been replaced by the Finance Act of 2021, and notices under the previous law could not be issued post-April 2021. The Supreme Court, however, ruled that the notices were valid because they were issued during an extraordinary period when the government extended timelines for various compliance actions due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The extension of time was made possible by TOLA, which was introduced to alleviate the pressures on taxpayers and tax authorities during the pandemic. Under TOLA, reassessment timelines were extended to cover actions that were disrupted by the national lockdowns. The Supreme Court clarified that while the new reassessment scheme under the Finance Act 2021 is now in place, actions initiated during the extended period allowed by TOLA can still proceed
This ruling resolves nearly 9,000 legal cases across different high courts, permitting the tax department to proceed with reassessments, potentially leading to significant tax recoveries. It also provides clarity on the intersection of the old and new reassessment regimes and the validity of extensions granted during the pandemic.
FAQs
1. What is tola income tax?
The purpose of the Income Tax Act is to levy tax on income and raise revenues for the functioning of the Government. On the other hand, the purpose of TOLA is to provide relaxation of the time for completion of any actions or proceedings falling for completion within a particular period.
2. What is the full form of PTE tax?
The Pass-Through Entity (PTE) Tax allows an entity to pay a tax on behalf of their partners, members, or shareholders.
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