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Issues involved: Appeal against order of Income Tax Appellate Tribunal regarding addition of stock value and re-opening of assessment.
Addition of Stock Value: The respondent assessee's assessment for the year 2004-05 was reopened due to underassessment of closing stock amounting to Rs. 30,47,400. The Commissioner of Income Tax (Appeals) deleted this addition, citing the principle that a change of opinion cannot justify exercising powers under section 148 of the Income Tax Act, 1961. The Income Tax Appellate Tribunal upheld the deletion, noting that the value of stock had decreased over time and that the same issue had been accepted in the preceding assessment year 2003-04. The Tribunal emphasized the importance of consistency in such matters, stating that the principle of res judicata may not apply, but consistency must be maintained. The Tribunal found no merit in the department's appeal and dismissed it, as there were no significant differences in the facts of the current assessment year to warrant a different treatment. Re-opening of Assessment: The Tribunal considered the legality of the re-opening of the assessment to be academic, as the addition of stock value had been deleted. It was noted that the Assessing Officer had acted on the same facts and material available during the assessment under section 143(3) of the Act, and therefore, had no justification for re-opening the assessment. The Tribunal concluded that the appeal lacked merit and no substantial question of law arose for consideration, leading to the dismissal of the appeal. In summary, the appeal was dismissed as the Tribunal upheld the deletion of the addition of stock value based on consistency in treatment of similar issues in previous years and found the re-opening of the assessment to be unjustified due to lack of new circumstances.
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