Section 149 of the Income-tax Act, 1961: Time Limits for Reassessment Notices
Section 149 governs the time within which the Income Tax Department may issue a reassessment notice under section 148 or a preliminary show-cause notice under section 148A for an assessment year governed by the Income-tax Act, 1961.
Time limits under section 149 of the 1961 Act
The Finance (No. 2) Act, 2024 substituted section 149 with effect from 1 September 2024. The limitation period is counted from the end of the relevant assessment year, subject to applicable statutory exclusions, transitional provisions and judicial rulings.
| Notice | Ordinary time limit | Extended time limit where escaped income is Rs. 50 lakh or more |
|---|---|---|
| Section 148A show-cause notice | 3 years from the end of the assessment year | 5 years from the end of the assessment year |
| Section 148 reassessment notice | 3 years and 3 months from the end of the assessment year | 5 years and 3 months from the end of the assessment year |
The extended period is not automatic. Under section 149(1)(b), the Assessing Officer must possess books of account, documents or evidence relating to an asset, expenditure, transaction or entries showing escaped income of at least Rs. 50 lakh. Section 149(2)(b) similarly requires information indicating escaped income of at least that amount for the show-cause notice.
Meaning of the relevant legal provisions
Section 147: Income escaping assessment
Section 147 authorises the Assessing Officer, subject to the statutory conditions, to assess or reassess income chargeable to tax that has escaped assessment. It is the substantive reassessment provision; it does not independently override the limitation periods.
Section 148: Notice for reassessment
Section 148 concerns the notice requiring a return where income is believed to have escaped assessment. The notice must comply with section 149 and the other applicable statutory safeguards.
Section 148A: Preliminary procedure
Section 148A provides the procedure before issuing a section 148 notice, including an opportunity to respond where required and an order deciding whether reassessment is warranted. Statutory exceptions must be considered.
Section 149: Limitation for both notices
Section 149(1) sets the outer periods for notices under section 148, while section 149(2) prescribes separate, slightly shorter periods for show-cause notices under section 148A. The distinction matters when checking whether proceedings began in time.
Section 150 and section 151
Section 150 deals with certain notices issued to give effect to findings or directions in appeal, reference or revision proceedings, subject to its restrictions. Section 151 identifies the specified authority for statutory approval. Neither provision should be read as a blanket permission to reopen time-barred years.
Income-tax Act, 2025: Section 282 from 1 April 2026
For Tax Year 2026-27 and subsequent tax years, reassessment is governed by sections 279 to 286 of the Income-tax Act, 2025. Section 282 prescribes the time limits for notices under sections 280 and 281.
| 2025 Act notice | Ordinary limit | Rs. 50 lakh or more |
|---|---|---|
| Section 281 show-cause notice | 4 years | 6 years |
| Section 280 reassessment notice | 4 years and 3 months | 6 years and 3 months |
These periods run from the end of the relevant tax year. Section 282(3) also restricts issuing notices under sections 280 and 281 within one year from the end of a tax year. The applicable exceptions and procedural requirements must be checked.
Importantly, the repeal and savings rules in section 536 of the 2025 Act preserve the operation of the earlier law for relevant prior years and pending proceedings. Therefore, a notice issued after 1 April 2026 does not necessarily fall under the 2025 Act.
Earlier versions of section 149
The original version of this webpage described a historical rule allowing notices generally within four years, within six years where escaped income met a Rs. 1 lakh threshold, and within sixteen years in certain cases involving foreign assets. Those provisions are not the current general limitation rule.
Further reforms took effect in 2021 and 2024. In particular, the regime preceding 1 September 2024 generally referred to a three-year period and an extended period of up to ten years for specified cases involving escaped income of Rs. 50 lakh or more. For notices relating to those periods, the precise version of the law in force, saving clauses and relevant court decisions must be examined.
How to check a reassessment notice
- Identify the assessment year or tax year to which the alleged escaped income relates.
- Check whether the Income-tax Act, 1961 or the Income-tax Act, 2025 governs that year.
- Identify whether the document is a preliminary show-cause notice or the substantive reassessment notice.
- Calculate the applicable deadline from the end of the relevant year and verify any statutory exclusion or extension.
- If the extended period is invoked, check the Rs. 50 lakh condition and the statutory evidence or information requirements.
- Review compliance with approval, opportunity of hearing, service and other procedural requirements.
Illustration: For AY 2022-23, the assessment year ended on 31 March 2023. Under the post-September 2024 framework, the ordinary section 148 notice period reaches three years and three months on 30 June 2026, while the extended period, if its conditions are met, reaches five years and three months on 30 June 2028. This simplified illustration does not resolve special exclusions, transitional disputes or other statutory restrictions.
Official statutory references
- Finance (No. 2) Act, 2024, section 45: substitution of section 149
- Income-tax Act, 1961 as amended by the Finance (No. 2) Act, 2024 (official PDF)
- Income Tax Department: Reassessment proceedings FAQs and transition guidance
- Income Tax Department: Interplay and transition FAQs (PDF)
Editorial update: 26 October 2026. This article provides general statutory information. Application to an individual notice depends on its dates, facts, applicable amendments and judicial decisions.