: Monday, February 1, 2021, 11:40 PM IST Budget 2021: Time limit for reopening of I-T assessment halved to 3 years, serious fraud cases retained at 10 years Budget 2021: Time limit for reopening of I-T assessment halved to 3 years, serious fraud cases retained at 10 years Pixabay Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Monday reduced the time limit for reopening of income tax assessment cases to three years from six years, while for serious tax fraud cases where concealment of income is Rs 50 lakh or more it would be 10 years. In her Budget speech for 2021-22, Sitharaman also announced that senior citizens above 75 years of age having only pension and interest income would not be required to file income tax returns. Banks paying the interest would deduct the tax on their behalf.