2013 (9) TMI 1153 - AT - Income Tax

Summary

Issues involved: Assessment u/s 143(3) r.w.s. 147, validity of reassessment proceedings, disallowance of indexed cost of acquisition.

Assessment u/s 143(3) r.w.s. 147:
The appeal was filed by the Revenue against the order of the ld. CIT(A) canceling the assessment made by the A.O. u/s 143(3) r.w.s. 147 for the assessment year 2003-04. The A.O. had reopened the assessment based on the same material available during the original assessment, leading to a total income determination of &8377; 2,95,70,400 after disallowing the deduction for indexed cost of acquisition. The ld. CIT(A) held the reassessment to be invalid as it was a mere change of opinion by the A.O. The Tribunal upheld this decision citing precedents from the Hon'ble Delhi High Court and the jurisdictional High Court, emphasizing that reassessment based on a change of opinion is impermissible.

Disallowance of indexed cost of acquisition:
The issue of disallowance of indexed cost of acquisition by the A.O. was raised in the appeal. However, due to the cancellation of the assessment u/s 143(3) r.w.s. 147, this issue became irrelevant. The ld. CIT(A) had already deleted the addition made by the A.O. based on the Tribunal's decision in the assessee's own case for A.Y. 1996-97, which recognized land development rights as a capital asset. Consequently, the Tribunal did not delve into this issue further.

In conclusion, the Tribunal dismissed the Revenue's appeal, upholding the cancellation of the assessment u/s 143(3) r.w.s. 147 due to its invalidity based on a mere change of opinion. The issue of disallowance of indexed cost of acquisition was deemed infructuous in light of the primary decision.