2014 (9) TMI 1080 - HC - Income Tax

Reopening of assessment - Held that - The grounds on which the Income Tax Department were purporting to reopen the assessment are mentioned in their letter dated 27th November, 2013, which is annexure P-6 at page 51 of the petition. All the issues were before the assessing officer and the appellate authorities, in my opinion. Nothing is mentioned in the said letter of the department which can be said to be new and could not be known to them in spite of due diligence at the time of making the assessment. There is no scope of reopening an assessment on a mere change of opinion.On identical facts, the Hon ble High Court of Gujarat pronounced a similar dictum in Transwind Infrastructure P Ltd. vs. Income-tax Officer, Ward-8(1) 2013 (5) TMI 52 - GUJARAT HIGH COURT - Decided in favour of assessee

Summary

Issues:
1. Validity of notice under section 148 of the Income Tax Act, 1961 for the assessment year 2008-2009.
2. Grounds for reopening the assessment by the Income Tax Department.
3. Consideration of identical facts in previous appeals.
4. Application for an interim order.

Analysis:
1. The judgment addresses the validity of a notice issued under section 148 of the Income Tax Act, 1961 for the assessment year 2008-2009, invoking powers under section 147. The petitioner had undergone scrutiny assessment for the same assessment period, and an appeal was filed against the assessment order which favored the petitioner. The Income Tax Appellate Tribunal dismissed the department's appeal. The court noted that the reasons for reopening the assessment were not new and were already considered by the assessing officer and appellate authorities. It emphasized that an assessment cannot be reopened solely based on a change of opinion, citing a similar dictum from the High Court of Gujarat in a previous case.

2. The grounds for reopening the assessment by the Income Tax Department were detailed in a letter dated 27th November, 2013. These grounds were found to be already considered during the previous scrutiny assessment and subsequent appeals. The court highlighted that nothing in the department's letter constituted new information that could not have been known during the original assessment process. The judgment emphasized the importance of due diligence in assessment procedures and reiterated that a mere change of opinion does not warrant the reopening of an assessment.

3. The judgment referenced a previous case where the High Court of Gujarat had pronounced a similar dictum on identical facts. This reference served to support the court's decision that the grounds for reopening the assessment were not valid and had already been considered in previous proceedings. By citing this precedent, the court reinforced its position that assessments cannot be reopened based solely on a change of opinion when all relevant information was available during the original assessment.

4. In light of the above analysis, the court granted an interim order in favor of the petitioner until the final disposal of the writ application. The court formally admitted the writ application and directed the filing of an affidavit in opposition by a specified date. The application was scheduled for further proceedings on a later date, and parties were instructed to comply with all necessary formalities for the certified photocopy of the order. The advocate on record was tasked with communicating these directions to the respondents, ensuring procedural transparency and adherence to legal requirements.