Section 115WH governs the notice that must precede an FBT reassessment under s.115WG. Sub-section (1) requires a notice calling for a return of fringe benefits, after which the Chapter applies as if it were a s.115WD return. Sub-section (2) requires the Assessing Officer to record his reasons before issuing the notice. Sub-section (3) bars a notice after six years; sub-section (4) bars a notice after four years (where a prior s.115WE(3)/115WG assessment was made) unless the Pr.CCIT/CCIT/Pr.CIT/CIT is satisfied on the recorded reasons. It is the FBT mirror of ss.148/149/151.
Historical context / FA amendment trail
Inserted by the Finance Act, 2005 w.e.f. AY 2006-07. Inapplicable from AY 2010-11 (s.115WM).
Operative consequences
• Valid notice within limitation, with recorded reasons and (where required) senior-authority satisfaction, is jurisdictional.
• Outer limit: six years from the end of the relevant AY; four years where a prior assessment was made, unless the specified authority is satisfied.
• Recorded reasons (sub-s 2) trigger the GKN Driveshafts duty to furnish reasons and dispose of objections.
Compiled for the bharattax.co Treatise on the Income-tax Act, 1961 (as amended by the Finance Act, 2026). Block 1 reproduces the statutory text verbatim from the Income-tax Act, 1961 (text as printed; the Chapter remains on the statute book but is inapplicable from AY 2010-11 by s.115WM). The Finance Act, 2026 makes no substantive change to Chapter XII-H. Not legal advice.
Case Laws & Commentary
Section 115WH — Issue of Notice Where Fringe Benefits Have Escaped Assessment
Case Laws & Commentary · Income-tax Act, 1961 (as amended by the Finance Act, 2026) · bharattax.co Treatise
Chapter: XII-H — Income-tax on Fringe Benefits (Fringe Benefit Tax). Inserted by the Finance Act, 2005 with effect from assessment year 2006-07.
Operative life: FBT was levied for assessment years 2006-07 to 2009-10. By section 115WM (inserted by the Finance (No. 2) Act, 2009), the Chapter does not apply from assessment year 2010-11 onwards. The sections were NOT omitted — they remain on the statute book but are switched off prospectively.
Finance Act, 2026: Makes no substantive amendment to Chapter XII-H. (The Finance Act, 2026 carries only consequential cross-references to sections 115WD/115WH in a penalty provision; the FBT charge, scope and machinery are untouched.)
Part: C — Procedure for filing of return, assessment and payment.
Section 115WH governs the notice that must precede an FBT reassessment under section 115WG. Sub-section (1) requires the Assessing Officer to serve a notice calling for a return of fringe benefits; thereafter the Chapter applies as if it were a 115WD return. Sub-section (2) is a critical safeguard: the Assessing Officer must record his reasons before issuing the notice. Sub-section (3) bars a notice after six years from the end of the relevant assessment year. Sub-section (4) bars a notice after four years (where an assessment under 115WE(3) or 115WG was made) unless the specified senior authority (Pr. CCIT/CCIT/Pr. CIT/CIT) is satisfied, on the recorded reasons, that it is a fit case.
This is the FBT mirror of section 148 read with sections 149 (limitation) and 151 (sanction). The valid service of a notice within limitation, supported by recorded reasons and (where required) sanction, is the jurisdictional foundation of the reassessment; a defect goes to jurisdiction. The GKN Driveshafts procedure (furnishing reasons on request and disposing of objections by a speaking order) flows directly from the recorded-reasons requirement of 115WH(2).
No FBT-specific reported merits decision construes section 115WH; the section 148/149/151 jurisprudence governs through section 115WL.
B. STATUTORY POSITION (verbatim text)
Section 115WH, Income-tax Act, 1961:
115WH. (1) Before making the assessment or reassessment under section 115WG, the Assessing Officer shall serve on the assessee a notice requiring him to furnish within such period as may be specified in the notice, a return of the fringe benefits in respect of which he is assessable under this Chapter during the previous year corresponding to the relevant assessment year, in the prescribed form and verified in the prescribed manner and setting forth such other particulars as may be prescribed, and the provisions of this Chapter shall, so far as may be, apply accordingly as if such return were a return required to be furnished under section 115WD.
(2) The Assessing Officer shall, before issuing any notice under this section, record his reasons for doing so.
(3) No notice under sub-section (1) shall be issued for the relevant assessment year after the expiry of six years from the end of the relevant assessment year. Explanation.—In determining fringe benefits chargeable to tax which have escaped assessment for the purposes of this sub-section, the provisions of the Explanation to section 115WG shall apply as they apply for the purposes of that section.
(4) In a case where an assessment under sub-section (3) of section 115WE or section 115WG has been made for the relevant assessment year, no notice shall be issued under sub-section (1) by an Assessing Officer, after the expiry of four years from the end of the relevant assessment year, unless the Principal Chief Commissioner or Chief Commissioner or Principal Commissioner or Commissioner is satisfied, on the reasons recorded by the Assessing Officer, that it is a fit case for the issue of such notice.
C. AUTHORITIES
Candour note: no FBT-specific reported decision construes section 115WH. As the FBT mirror of sections 148/149/151, the recorded-reasons, limitation and sanction safeguards are jurisdictional; the GKN Driveshafts procedure applies.
C-1 Notice, recorded reasons, disposal of objections (cognate)
GKN Driveshafts (India) Ltd. v. ITO (2003) 259 ITR 19 (SC)
Proposition: On receipt of a notice to reassess, the assessee may seek the recorded reasons; the Assessing Officer must furnish them and dispose of the assessee's objections by a speaking order before proceeding. This procedural code governs reassessment generally.
Why relevant: Sections 115WG-115WH adopt a 'fringe benefits escaping assessment' scheme parallel to sections 147-148, and section 115WH(2) requires reasons to be recorded before issuing notice. Read with section 115WL, the GKN Driveshafts safeguards apply to FBT reassessment.
C-2 Limitation and sanction as jurisdictional (cognate, via s.115WL)
Principle: The time limits in 115WH(3)-(4) (six years; four years with senior-authority satisfaction) and the recorded-reasons requirement are jurisdictional conditions; a notice issued beyond limitation or without the required satisfaction is invalid, mirroring the settled position under sections 149 and 151.
Source: Settled section 148/149/151 jurisprudence, applied to FBT through section 115WL.
Compiled for the bharattax.co Treatise on the Income-tax Act, 1961 (as amended by the Finance Act, 2026). Statutory text reproduced verbatim from the Income-tax Act, 1961 (text as printed in the Act, the Chapter remaining on the statute book but rendered inapplicable from assessment year 2010-11 onwards by section 115WM). Citations are stated as reported; rulings of the Authority for Advance Rulings and orders of the Tribunal are flagged as such. Where a section has not been judicially construed, that is stated candidly and the nearest governing authority (including the machinery provisions imported by section 115WL) is given. This material is for professional reference and is not legal advice.
Function in the statutory architecture
Section 115WH governs the notice that must precede an FBT reassessment under s.115WG. Sub-section (1) requires a notice calling for a return of fringe benefits, after which the Chapter applies as if it were a s.115WD return. Sub-section (2) requires the Assessing Officer to record his reasons before issuing the notice. Sub-section (3) bars a notice after six years; sub-section (4) bars a notice after four years (where a prior s.115WE(3)/115WG assessment was made) unless the Pr.CCIT/CCIT/Pr.CIT/CIT is satisfied on the recorded reasons. It is the FBT mirror of ss.148/149/151.
Historical context / FA amendment trail
Inserted by the Finance Act, 2005 w.e.f. AY 2006-07. Inapplicable from AY 2010-11 (s.115WM).
Operative consequences
• Valid notice within limitation, with recorded reasons and (where required) senior-authority satisfaction, is jurisdictional.
• Outer limit: six years from the end of the relevant AY; four years where a prior assessment was made, unless the specified authority is satisfied.
• Recorded reasons (sub-s 2) trigger the GKN Driveshafts duty to furnish reasons and dispose of objections.
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Compiled for the bharattax.co Treatise on the Income-tax Act, 1961 (as amended by the Finance Act, 2026). Block 1 reproduces the statutory text verbatim from the Income-tax Act, 1961 (text as printed; the Chapter remains on the statute book but is inapplicable from AY 2010-11 by s.115WM). The Finance Act, 2026 makes no substantive change to Chapter XII-H. Not legal advice.
Case Laws & Commentary
Section 115WH — Issue of Notice Where Fringe Benefits Have Escaped Assessment
Case Laws & Commentary · Income-tax Act, 1961 (as amended by the Finance Act, 2026) · bharattax.co Treatise
Chapter: XII-H — Income-tax on Fringe Benefits (Fringe Benefit Tax). Inserted by the Finance Act, 2005 with effect from assessment year 2006-07.
Operative life: FBT was levied for assessment years 2006-07 to 2009-10. By section 115WM (inserted by the Finance (No. 2) Act, 2009), the Chapter does not apply from assessment year 2010-11 onwards. The sections were NOT omitted — they remain on the statute book but are switched off prospectively.
Finance Act, 2026: Makes no substantive amendment to Chapter XII-H. (The Finance Act, 2026 carries only consequential cross-references to sections 115WD/115WH in a penalty provision; the FBT charge, scope and machinery are untouched.)
Part: C — Procedure for filing of return, assessment and payment.
Parallel: FBT analogue of section 148 (notice) read with the time limits of section 149 and sanction under section 151.
A. SECTION COMMENTARY
Section 115WH governs the notice that must precede an FBT reassessment under section 115WG. Sub-section (1) requires the Assessing Officer to serve a notice calling for a return of fringe benefits; thereafter the Chapter applies as if it were a 115WD return. Sub-section (2) is a critical safeguard: the Assessing Officer must record his reasons before issuing the notice. Sub-section (3) bars a notice after six years from the end of the relevant assessment year. Sub-section (4) bars a notice after four years (where an assessment under 115WE(3) or 115WG was made) unless the specified senior authority (Pr. CCIT/CCIT/Pr. CIT/CIT) is satisfied, on the recorded reasons, that it is a fit case.
This is the FBT mirror of section 148 read with sections 149 (limitation) and 151 (sanction). The valid service of a notice within limitation, supported by recorded reasons and (where required) sanction, is the jurisdictional foundation of the reassessment; a defect goes to jurisdiction. The GKN Driveshafts procedure (furnishing reasons on request and disposing of objections by a speaking order) flows directly from the recorded-reasons requirement of 115WH(2).
No FBT-specific reported merits decision construes section 115WH; the section 148/149/151 jurisprudence governs through section 115WL.
B. STATUTORY POSITION (verbatim text)
Section 115WH, Income-tax Act, 1961:
115WH. (1) Before making the assessment or reassessment under section 115WG, the Assessing Officer shall serve on the assessee a notice requiring him to furnish within such period as may be specified in the notice, a return of the fringe benefits in respect of which he is assessable under this Chapter during the previous year corresponding to the relevant assessment year, in the prescribed form and verified in the prescribed manner and setting forth such other particulars as may be prescribed, and the provisions of this Chapter shall, so far as may be, apply accordingly as if such return were a return required to be furnished under section 115WD.
(2) The Assessing Officer shall, before issuing any notice under this section, record his reasons for doing so.
(3) No notice under sub-section (1) shall be issued for the relevant assessment year after the expiry of six years from the end of the relevant assessment year. Explanation.—In determining fringe benefits chargeable to tax which have escaped assessment for the purposes of this sub-section, the provisions of the Explanation to section 115WG shall apply as they apply for the purposes of that section.
(4) In a case where an assessment under sub-section (3) of section 115WE or section 115WG has been made for the relevant assessment year, no notice shall be issued under sub-section (1) by an Assessing Officer, after the expiry of four years from the end of the relevant assessment year, unless the Principal Chief Commissioner or Chief Commissioner or Principal Commissioner or Commissioner is satisfied, on the reasons recorded by the Assessing Officer, that it is a fit case for the issue of such notice.
C. AUTHORITIES
Candour note: no FBT-specific reported decision construes section 115WH. As the FBT mirror of sections 148/149/151, the recorded-reasons, limitation and sanction safeguards are jurisdictional; the GKN Driveshafts procedure applies.
C-1 Notice, recorded reasons, disposal of objections (cognate)
GKN Driveshafts (India) Ltd. v. ITO (2003) 259 ITR 19 (SC)
Proposition: On receipt of a notice to reassess, the assessee may seek the recorded reasons; the Assessing Officer must furnish them and dispose of the assessee's objections by a speaking order before proceeding. This procedural code governs reassessment generally.
Why relevant: Sections 115WG-115WH adopt a 'fringe benefits escaping assessment' scheme parallel to sections 147-148, and section 115WH(2) requires reasons to be recorded before issuing notice. Read with section 115WL, the GKN Driveshafts safeguards apply to FBT reassessment.
C-2 Limitation and sanction as jurisdictional (cognate, via s.115WL)
Counterpart of sections 149 and 151
Principle: The time limits in 115WH(3)-(4) (six years; four years with senior-authority satisfaction) and the recorded-reasons requirement are jurisdictional conditions; a notice issued beyond limitation or without the required satisfaction is invalid, mirroring the settled position under sections 149 and 151.
Source: Settled section 148/149/151 jurisprudence, applied to FBT through section 115WL.
Compiled for the bharattax.co Treatise on the Income-tax Act, 1961 (as amended by the Finance Act, 2026). Statutory text reproduced verbatim from the Income-tax Act, 1961 (text as printed in the Act, the Chapter remaining on the statute book but rendered inapplicable from assessment year 2010-11 onwards by section 115WM). Citations are stated as reported; rulings of the Authority for Advance Rulings and orders of the Tribunal are flagged as such. Where a section has not been judicially construed, that is stated candidly and the nearest governing authority (including the machinery provisions imported by section 115WL) is given. This material is for professional reference and is not legal advice.