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Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errorsFree Scan →Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minuteDriver Scan →In India, the deadline depends first on the tax period and then on the notice stage. For tax years beginning on or after 1 April 2026, the Income-tax Act, 2025 generally allows four years for a section 281 show-cause notice and four years plus three months for a section 280 reassessment notice. If the statutory ₹50 lakh escaped-income and evidence tests are met, those windows can extend to six years and six years plus three months.
Earlier years generally remain under the Income-tax Act, 1961. From 1 September 2024, its ordinary limits are three years for a section 148A show-cause notice and three years plus three months for a section 148 reassessment notice, extending to five years and five years plus three months when the statutory ₹50 lakh and evidence conditions apply. These are the department’s issuance limits, not the time you receive to respond.
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Start with the two clocks
A reassessment case has separate deadlines that are often confused:
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- The department’s limitation period: how long the Income-tax Department has to issue the pre-notice show-cause communication and the subsequent reassessment notice.
- Your response period: the date written in the notice for filing a reply, return or supporting material.
A notice can be within the department’s limitation period but still require an immediate response. Conversely, a taxpayer’s response deadline does not extend the statutory period in which the department had to issue the notice. Calendar both dates from the documents you actually received.
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Which Indian law applies?
Tax years covered by the Income-tax Act, 2025
The Income-tax Act, 2025 applies its reassessment provisions to tax years beginning on or after 1 April 2026. In that framework, the relevant labels are “tax year,” section 281 show-cause notice and section 280 reassessment notice.
Earlier years and pending proceedings
Earlier tax years, and proceedings that were pending on 1 April 2026, continue under the Income-tax Act, 1961 and its applicable amendments. Those matters use “assessment year,” section 148A for the show-cause stage and section 148 for the reassessment notice. Do not convert an assessment year into a tax year or apply the newer four-year formula merely because you received a letter after 1 April 2026.
Departmental issuance deadlines at a glance
| Framework and notice | Ordinary limit | Extended limit | Condition for extension |
|---|---|---|---|
| Income-tax Act, 2025 — section 281 show-cause notice | Four years from the end of the relevant tax year | Six years from the end of the relevant tax year | Escaped income of at least ₹50 lakh under section 282(2), with the statutory requirements |
| Income-tax Act, 2025 — section 280 reassessment notice | Four years and three months from the end of the relevant tax year | Six years and three months from the end of the relevant tax year | At least ₹50 lakh of escaped income under section 282(1), supported by the prescribed asset, expenditure, transaction or entry evidence |
| Income-tax Act, 1961 — section 148A show-cause notice (as amended from 1 September 2024) | Three years from the end of the relevant assessment year | Five years from the end of the relevant assessment year | At least ₹50 lakh of escaped income under section 149(2), with the statutory conditions |
| Income-tax Act, 1961 — section 148 reassessment notice (as amended from 1 September 2024) | Three years and three months from the end of the relevant assessment year | Five years and three months from the end of the relevant assessment year | ₹50 lakh threshold plus the evidence condition under section 149(1) |
The ₹50 lakh amount is not a stand-alone permission to reopen an assessment. The relevant section also requires the specified information or evidence. An amount below the threshold generally cannot use the extended window, and an amount above it still has to satisfy the evidence test.
The one-year restriction under the 2025 Act
The 2025 Act bars issuing either a section 280 or section 281 notice within one year from the end of the relevant tax year. This is a separate restriction from the four-year or six-year outer windows. Check the tax-year end before counting forward.
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How to calculate the outer date
- Read the period named in the notice. Identify the assessment year under the 1961 Act or tax year under the 2025 Act.
- Find that year’s statutory end. The 2025 Act calculations run from the end of the tax year; the 1961 Act calculations run from the end of the assessment year.
- Apply the ordinary window first. Use four or three years for the show-cause stage, and add three months for the later reassessment notice.
- Test the extension conditions. Use six or five years only when the ₹50 lakh threshold and the relevant evidence requirements are both met.
- Compare the actual issue date with the resulting last day. Preserve the notice and service records because a limitation challenge can depend on the exact date and manner of issue.
For example, if a 2025 Act tax year ends on 31 March 2027, the ordinary section 281 window is measured to 31 March 2031 and the ordinary section 280 window to 30 June 2031. Those dates are illustrations of the statutory formulas, not a ruling on any individual notice. The applicable extended dates require the section 282 conditions.
Show-cause notice versus reassessment notice
Section 281 under the 2025 Act
The section 281 communication is the pre-notice opportunity to explain why income has not escaped assessment or why reopening should not proceed. The authority must consider the taxpayer’s reply in the ordinary process before deciding whether to issue the section 280 notice.
The official material available for this article does not establish a universal number of days or a general extension mechanism for a section 281 reply. Follow the date in the actual communication and confirm the current procedural rule if the notice is unclear.
Section 280 under the 2025 Act
Section 280 is the subsequent reassessment notice. It specifies the period for furnishing the return or other required response. That period cannot run later than three months from the end of the month in which the notice was issued. The notice’s stated date still controls your practical filing deadline.
Section 148A under the 1961 Act
A section 148A notice is the older Act’s show-cause stage. You must receive at least seven days and no more than 30 days from issue to respond. The statute permits an extension when you apply for one; make the request before the original deadline and retain proof of submission.
Section 148 under the 1961 Act
Section 148 is the later reassessment notice. The return date specified in it cannot be later than three months from the end of the month in which the notice was issued. This three-month cap is different from the three-year-and-three-month departmental issuance limit.
Your response deadline is a separate calculation
Read every notice for four items: the section cited, the assessment or tax year, the issue and service dates, and the exact response date. A show-cause reply period runs from issue under the 1961 Act. A return period under section 148 or 280 is tied to the end of the issue month. Do not assume that the department’s outer limitation date gives you the same amount of time to file a return.
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- For a 1961 Act section 148 notice, use the date written in the notice, subject to the three-month end-of-issue-month cap.
- For a 2025 Act section 280 notice, use the stated return period, subject to the same three-month cap.
- For a 2025 Act section 281 notice, comply with the stated date because no general period was established in the official material reviewed.
Completion of reassessment is another deadline
2025 Act completion period
After a section 280 notice is served, the general completion limit is one year from the end of the financial year in which that notice was served. A transfer-pricing reference can add 12 months. Section 286 also excludes specified intervals, including certain court stays and periods connected with audit, valuation, information exchange and other statutory proceedings. Where only a short period remains after applying an exclusion, the statute can adjust the available time under stated conditions. Therefore, “one year” is a baseline, not an unconditional final date.
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1961 Act completion period
For the applicable post-2019 section 148 notice cohort, reassessment is generally to be completed within 12 months from the end of the financial year in which the notice was served. Section 153 contains exclusions and extensions, so the service date and any intervening statutory event must be checked before calculating the final order date.
A practical workflow when a notice arrives
- Download and preserve the complete record. Save the notice PDF, annexures, portal messages, email alerts, delivery details and acknowledgement numbers. Keep the original file names and timestamps.
- Identify the governing Act. Look for “assessment year” and sections 148A/148, or “tax year” and sections 281/280. If the period is before 1 April 2026 or the matter was pending on that date, examine the 1961 Act transition rule.
- Separate the two limitation questions. Calculate the department’s last permissible issue date and your own reply or return date in separate calendar entries.
- Check the ₹50 lakh basis. If the notice relies on an extended period, identify the amount alleged to have escaped assessment and the asset, expenditure, transaction, entry or other evidence cited. The amount alone is not enough.
- Check service and issue dates. The response period and completion period can use different trigger dates. Keep portal and delivery proof in case the date is disputed.
- Prepare a focused response. Address the information relied on, the relevant year, computation, jurisdictional objections and supporting documents. Do not ignore a show-cause notice while waiting for a later reassessment notice.
- Request more time if permitted. Under section 148A, make an extension application within the seven-to-30-day period. For section 281, follow the notice and current procedural instructions because a universal period or extension rule is not stated here.
- Obtain professional help for fact-specific cases. A qualified Indian tax professional can help respond to an income-tax reassessment notice, especially where the ₹50 lakh test, transition rules, court proceedings or limitation dates are contested.
Common deadline mistakes
Using the wrong year label
Assessment year and tax year are not interchangeable. The same calendar date can produce a different result depending on which Act governs the proceeding.
Treating section 148A or 281 as the final reopening notice
The show-cause stage and the later reassessment notice have different sections, purposes and outer limits. A response to one does not replace the other.
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The extended period requires the threshold and the prescribed evidence condition. Review the statutory basis stated in the notice instead of assuming that any large adjustment qualifies.
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Confusing issuance with completion
The period to issue a notice ends before the separate period to complete the reassessment begins. Stays, audits, valuation, information exchange, transfer pricing and other events can alter the completion calculation.
Counting from the wrong event
Outer issuance windows run from the end of the relevant tax or assessment year. Response periods may run from issue, while completion periods use service and the end of a financial year. Use the trigger specified for each calculation.
What to verify before challenging or answering
- The notice section and governing Act.
- The assessment year or tax year and its end date.
- Whether the notice is within the ordinary or extended window.
- Whether the alleged escaped income reaches ₹50 lakh and whether the required evidence is identified.
- The exact issue, service and portal-upload dates.
- The response date and whether an extension request is available.
- Any pending proceeding on 1 April 2026, court stay, appeal finding, transfer-pricing reference, audit, valuation or information-exchange period.
- The acknowledgement proving that your reply or return was filed.
Bottom line
For India, first identify the tax period and the Act. Under the 2025 Act, the standard windows are four years for section 281 and four years plus three months for section 280, with six-year versions only when the ₹50 lakh and evidence tests are met. Under the amended 1961 Act, the standard windows are three years for section 148A and three years plus three months for section 148, extending to five years and five years plus three months on the statutory conditions. Then read the notice for your own response date and calculate completion separately. When dates are close or the notice relies on a transition or exclusion, have the document reviewed promptly by an Indian tax professional.
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