Section 146 — [Omitted] (Reopening of Assessment at the Instance of the Assessee)
Case Laws & Commentary · Income-tax Act, 1961 (as amended by the Finance Act, 2026) · bharattax.co Treatise
Status: Omitted by the Direct Tax Laws (Amendment) Act, 1987, w.e.f. 1 April 1989. Section 146 had enabled an assessee, assessed under section 144 (best judgment), to apply for the assessment to be reopened/cancelled on showing that he was prevented by sufficient cause from complying, or did not receive the notice, etc.
FA 2026: Not applicable — the section is not on the statute book.
A. SECTION COMMENTARY
Section 146 was the assessee's remedy against an ex parte best-judgment assessment: on application within the prescribed time, the Assessing Officer was bound to reopen and re-do the assessment if satisfied that the assessee had not received the notice, or was prevented by sufficient cause from appearing or producing evidence, or had not had a reasonable opportunity. It served the same protective function that is now achieved through the appeal route and, for faceless/ex parte orders, through the natural-justice jurisprudence and section 144 itself.
The provision was omitted with effect from 1 April 1989 as part of the rationalisation of the assessment and appeal machinery; the assessee aggrieved by a best-judgment assessment now proceeds by appeal under section 246A (or, in faceless cases, may obtain relief where natural justice was denied). Reproduced here, with this note, for completeness — no section of Chapter XIV is skipped.
B. STATUTORY POSITION (verbatim text)
The section stands omitted; the omission entry is reproduced from the local Act.
146. Omitted by the Direct Tax Laws (Amendment) Act, 1987, w.e.f. 1-4-1989.
C. AUTHORITIES
No live authority; the section having been omitted in 1989, decisions under it are of historical interest only.
1. Historic note
Section 146 — omitted with effect from 1 April 1989
Position: The statutory remedy to reopen an ex parte best-judgment assessment on the assessee's application no longer exists; the aggrieved assessee proceeds by appeal under section 246A, and faceless/ex parte orders made in breach of natural justice are amenable to being set aside on that ground. No current dispute can arise under the omitted provision.
Compiled for the bharattax.co Treatise on the Income-tax Act, 1961 (as amended by the Finance Act, 2026). Statutory text reproduced from the Income-tax Act, 1961 (text as printed in the local Act, base text amended up to the Finance Act, 2025), with the publisher's footnote apparatus and amendment-marker brackets removed; Finance Act, 2026 changes are flagged in the commentary. Citations are stated as reported; orders of the Tribunal, Authority for Advance Rulings and High Courts are flagged as such. Where a section has not been judicially construed, that is stated candidly and the nearest governing authority is given. This material is for professional reference and is not legal advice.
CHAPTER XIV — PROCEDURE FOR ASSESSMENT
Section 146 — [Omitted] (Reopening of Assessment at the Instance of the Assessee)
Case Laws & Commentary · Income-tax Act, 1961 (as amended by the Finance Act, 2026) · bharattax.co Treatise
Status: Omitted by the Direct Tax Laws (Amendment) Act, 1987, w.e.f. 1 April 1989. Section 146 had enabled an assessee, assessed under section 144 (best judgment), to apply for the assessment to be reopened/cancelled on showing that he was prevented by sufficient cause from complying, or did not receive the notice, etc.
FA 2026: Not applicable — the section is not on the statute book.
A. SECTION COMMENTARY
Section 146 was the assessee's remedy against an ex parte best-judgment assessment: on application within the prescribed time, the Assessing Officer was bound to reopen and re-do the assessment if satisfied that the assessee had not received the notice, or was prevented by sufficient cause from appearing or producing evidence, or had not had a reasonable opportunity. It served the same protective function that is now achieved through the appeal route and, for faceless/ex parte orders, through the natural-justice jurisprudence and section 144 itself.
The provision was omitted with effect from 1 April 1989 as part of the rationalisation of the assessment and appeal machinery; the assessee aggrieved by a best-judgment assessment now proceeds by appeal under section 246A (or, in faceless cases, may obtain relief where natural justice was denied). Reproduced here, with this note, for completeness — no section of Chapter XIV is skipped.
B. STATUTORY POSITION (verbatim text)
The section stands omitted; the omission entry is reproduced from the local Act.
146. Omitted by the Direct Tax Laws (Amendment) Act, 1987, w.e.f. 1-4-1989.
C. AUTHORITIES
No live authority; the section having been omitted in 1989, decisions under it are of historical interest only.
1. Historic note
Section 146 — omitted with effect from 1 April 1989
Position: The statutory remedy to reopen an ex parte best-judgment assessment on the assessee's application no longer exists; the aggrieved assessee proceeds by appeal under section 246A, and faceless/ex parte orders made in breach of natural justice are amenable to being set aside on that ground. No current dispute can arise under the omitted provision.
Compiled for the bharattax.co Treatise on the Income-tax Act, 1961 (as amended by the Finance Act, 2026). Statutory text reproduced from the Income-tax Act, 1961 (text as printed in the local Act, base text amended up to the Finance Act, 2025), with the publisher's footnote apparatus and amendment-marker brackets removed; Finance Act, 2026 changes are flagged in the commentary. Citations are stated as reported; orders of the Tribunal, Authority for Advance Rulings and High Courts are flagged as such. Where a section has not been judicially construed, that is stated candidly and the nearest governing authority is given. This material is for professional reference and is not legal advice.