I got a Section 148 notice as an NRI. Do I need to fly to India?

No. A Chartered Accountant can represent you end-to-end, reply to the notice, file the response, attend faceless proceedings. That right now sits in Section 515 of the Income-tax Act 2025, which carries forward Section 288 of the 1961 Act. You handle the case from abroad over email and e-proceedings.

What's the deadline to reply to a Section 148 notice?

Typically 30 days from the date of service, though the notice itself states the exact window. Section 148A pre-notice show-cause gives 7 to 30 days. Missing either deadline lets the Assessing Officer complete an ex parte reassessment against you.

Can a Section 148 notice be for income more than 10 years old?

No. Finance (No. 2) Act 2024 caps the Section 148 reassessment window at 3 years 3 months from the end of the relevant assessment year (5 years 3 months if asset-linked escaped income ≥ ₹50 lakh). Anything older is time-barred unless the assessment was reopened earlier.

The notice mentions a property sale I already reported. What do I do?

Reply with the sale deed, Form 26AS extract showing the buyer's TDS, your ITR-V for that year, and the capital-gains computation. Most notices driven by SFT property-sale flags close within one reply cycle once the match is documented.

Can I ignore a Section 148 notice if I'm no longer tax-resident in India?

No. NRI status doesn't cancel a notice that relates to India-source income in a past year. Silence converts the notice into an ex parte assessment plus a recovery proceeding that can freeze your Indian bank accounts. Always reply.

Stage · Active situation

Just got a Section 148 notice?
You have 30 days. Not 30 days to panic, 30 days to reply.

The envelope with the Government of India seal showed up Tuesday. Or it was an email at 11:47 pm. You saw “Section 148” and your stomach dropped. You Googled and found six contradictory answers. 148, 148A, 143(2), 245, 139(9), each is a different deadline and a different reply. Answer five questions and we'll tell you exactly which one you have.

Identifies your notice type from 5 questions. Free. No signup.
Cites the exact Section, deadline, and consequence for each type
Routes you to a notice-specialist CA who handles it under Section 288, you don't fly to India

Section 148 notice has a 30-day clock, don't miss it.

ICAI-registered CA teamServing 46 countriesFree 15-min consult

Senior CA replies within 24h. ₹2L, 50L+ demand? We've seen yours 100+ times.

The rule said no. This taxpayer still won.Settled law

What the rule looks like: A notice was issued, you did not reply, and an ex parte order followed. On its face the assessment stands and the demand is enforceable against your Indian bank account.

The exception that applied: A reassessment stands on a valid jurisdictional notice. Defective service, an expired limitation window or sanction from the wrong authority destroys the foundation, and everything built on it falls.

What was actually decided: It does not. Tribunals have quashed reassessments as void where the notice was served at an address the taxpayer had already changed, sent to the wrong email ID, issued after limitation, or approved by the wrong sanctioning authority. Once the jurisdictional notice is invalid, everything built on it falls with it.

What the win turned on

Proof that the department had been told the correct address or email, and used the old one anyway
The exact issue date against the limitation window for that assessment year. The windows changed in 2021 and again in 2024, so the year matters
Who signed the sanction, and whether that officer was the authority the section required
Whether the notice came from a jurisdictional officer instead of the faceless system, which is the separate Hexaware ground

These are the facts that decided it. If none of them describe your situation, this case will not carry you, and a CA will tell you that before you spend anything.

How far this carries: These are fact-specific wins on procedure, not a general rule that ex parte orders are void. Each turns on the actual defect in that record. Delay in challenging can also hurt, so this is time-sensitive.

ITAT decisions quashing reassessment for defective notice, service or sanction, ITAT Delhi, Visakhapatnam and other benches; a line of decisions through 2025-26.Verify it yourself: abcaus.in · taxguru.in · jurishour.in

Think this is your situation?

Send us the notice or the order. A chartered accountant will tell you whether the facts line up, what evidence you would need, and what it would cost to contest it. If your facts do not fit, you will be told that too.

Ask a CA if you have a case

A chartered accountant can represent you through assessment, the Commissioner (Appeals) and the Tribunal under section 288. The High Court and Supreme Court need an advocate, and we will say so if it gets that far. Nothing here is a prediction of your outcome.

Want a CA to reply to the notice for you?

Free 15-min scoping call. Flat fee scoped after. We file the response under Section 288.

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