Section 148 — reassessment of an earlier year
A notice under section 148 reopens a year that was closed, on the basis that income escaped assessment. Unlike a 143(1) intimation, this is not automated and not routine. It follows a process in which the department must first put the information to you and consider your reply before issuing the notice at all.
At a glance
- What it does
- Reopens an earlier assessment year
- Preceded by
- A show-cause procedure and an opportunity to reply
- Requires
- Information suggesting income escaped assessment
- Your first step
- Read what information the department says it holds
- Get advice
- Yes — this is not a do-it-yourself notice
Take this one seriously
Most communications from the department are automated and routine. This one is neither. A reassessment notice means a specific piece of information has been connected to your PAN — a property transaction, a large deposit, a foreign remittance — and a view has been formed that it was not reflected in your return.
The reply matters, and it matters at the show-cause stage before the notice is even issued. A complete answer with documents at that point frequently ends the matter. A thin answer invites the full reassessment.
Where our role ends
We can help you assemble and reconcile the records, and we can prepare a return where one is required. We do not represent taxpayers before the income tax authorities or the Appellate Tribunal, and a reassessment is exactly the situation where you should instruct a Chartered Accountant or an advocate. We will say so plainly rather than take work we should not.
The reply before the notice matters more than the reply after it
Reassessment now runs through a preliminary stage: the department puts the information to you and invites a reply before deciding whether to issue the section 148 notice at all. That preliminary reply is where a small amount of effort does the most good — a documented explanation at that stage often closes the matter without a reassessment ever beginning. Taxpayers routinely treat it as a formality, send something brief, and then spend two years contesting an assessment that need not have started. Engage properly at the first letter, not the second.
Questions we get asked
How far back can they go?
The permitted period depends on the amount of income alleged to have escaped assessment and on the provisions applicable to that year. Establish the correct position for your specific year before responding.
I got a letter but not a 148 notice yet.
That is the show-cause stage, and it is the most important opportunity you will get. Answer it fully and with documents.
Can you deal with it?
We can help gather and reconcile records and prepare any return required. For the representation itself you should engage a Chartered Accountant or advocate, and we will tell you that rather than take the work.
Want us to handle it?
Flat ₹499 including GST for ITR-1 and ITR-4. Everything else quoted before any work starts, with no charge for the quote.