JUDGMENT :

1. Heard Sri Abhinav Mehrotra, Sri Rahul Agarwal, Sri Ashish Bansal, Sri Shubham Agarwal, Sri Ankur Agarwal, Sri Suyash Agarwal, Sri V.K. Sabarwal, Sri R.B. Gupta and Sri Krishna Vyas learned counsels for the petitioners in the bunch cases; Sri Gaurav Mahajan, Sri Krishna Agarwal, Sri Ashish Agarwal, Sri Manu Ghildyal, learned counsels appearing for the respondentRevenue, Sri Anant Kumar Tiwari, Sri Gopal Verma and Sri N.C. Gupta, learned counsels for the Union of India.

2. Introduction:-

2. The writ petitions in this bunch are directed against the orders passed by the Assessing Authority under Section 148-A(d) of the Income Tax Act' 1961 (hereinafter referred as Act' 1961) and the consequential notices issued under Section 148 of the Act' 1961. The dispute pertains to the assessment years 2013-14, 2014-15, 2015-16, 2016-17 and 2017-18. The disputed notices having been issued on or after 01.04.2021, the period concerned is between 01.04.2021 to 30.06.2021.

3. At the outset, learned counsels for the parties had agreed to address the Court on two questions framed and discussed jointly, answer to which would decide the fate of the individual notices under challenge, on factual aspects.

4. We have, therefore, not entered into the merits of the individual notices under challenge and heard the learned counsels for the parties on the following two legal issues:-

(i) Whether the reassessment proceedings initiated with the notice under Section 148 (deemed to be notice under Section 148-A), issued between 01.04.2021 and 30.06.2021, can be conducted by giving benefit of relaxation/extension under the Taxation and Other Laws (Relaxation & Amendment of Certain Provisions) Act' (TOLA)' 2020 upto 30.03.2021, and then the time limit prescribed in Section 149 (1) (b) (as substituted w.e.f. 01.04.2021) is to be counted by giving such relaxation, benefit of TOLA from 30.03.2020 onwards to the revenue.

(ii) Whether in respect of the proceedings where the first proviso to Section 149(1)(b) is attracted, benefit of TOLA' 2020 will be available to the revenue, or in other words the relaxation law under TOLA' 2020 would govern the time frame prescribed under the first 3 proviso to Section 149 as inserted by the Finance Act' 2021, in such cases?

5. As noted above, the impugned notices have been issued between 01.04.2021 and 30.06.2021. For the assessment year 2013-14 and 2014-15, it was argued by the learned counsels for the assessees that the assessment for these years cannot be reopened, in as much as, maximum period of six years prescribed in preamendment provision of Section 149(1)(b) had expired on 31.03.2021. No notice under Section 148 could be issued in a case for the assessment year 2013-14 and 2014-15 on or after 01.04.2021 being time barred, on account of being beyond the time limit specified under the provisions of Section 149(1)(b) as they stood immediately before the commencement of the Finance Act' 2021. For the assessment year 2015-16, 2016-17, 2017-18, the contention is that the monetary threshold and other requirements of the Income Tax Act in the post-amendment regime, i.e. after the commencement of the Finance Act' 2021 have to be followed. The validity of the jurisdictional notice under Section 148 is, thus, to be tested on the touchstone of compliances or fulfillment of requirements by the revenue as per Section 149(1)(b) and the first proviso to Section 149(1) inserted by the amendment under the Finance Act' 2021, w.e.f. 01.04.2021.

6. Before proceeding further, it may be noticed as a clarification at this stage itself, that there is no dispute about the fact that the notices issued under Section 148 after the amendment brought by the Finance Act' 2021 i.e. on or after 01.04.2021 be treated as notices under Section 148-A as per the amended provisions. It has also been agreed by the counsel for the parties that the date of