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2021 (5) TMI 414 - AT - Income TaxValidity of reassessment proceedings u/s 147 - approval by the concerned / competent authority in a mechanical manner u/s 151 - as argued approval for issue of the notice under section 148 of the Act was granted by the CIT in a mechanical manner and without application of mind and, therefore, reassessment proceeding must be quashed - HELD THAT - On perusal of the proforma for the approval granted by the PCIT, it is evident that in the relevant column No.13 for satisfaction of the Pr.CIT, he has only mentioned yes . No other information is available on record or provided by the ld. DR, which could establish application of mind by the CIT, while granting sanction/approval for issue of notice u/s 148 of the Act. No other evidence was produced as to substantiate that matter was ever discussed between the Assessing Officer or Addl. CIT and the Learned Pr.CIT for arriving at satisfaction of Learned Pr.CIT on the reasons recorded by the Assessing Officer. Even no evidences whether Ld PCIT examined the material relied upon by the Ld AO for reopening, was produced before us. Mere mentioning of yes for approval, without any other evidence of application of the mind, amounts to mechanical approval by the LearnedPr.CIT. Further in Column No. 7 of the proforma, the section for invoking reassessment has been recorded as 147(b) of the Act. During the relevant period, section 147(b) was no longer in existence. This shows that the Ld. AO has filed the Proforma in mechanically manner and Ld. CIT has also approved the same mechanically. As following case of M/S N.C. CABLES LTD. 2017 (1) TMI 1036 - DELHI HIGH COURT and M/S. MADHU APARTMENT PRIVATE LIMITED 2021 (2) TMI 709 - ITAT DELHI we quash the reassessment proceeding in the case of the assessee. - Decided in favour of assessee.
Issues Involved:
1. Validity of the reassessment proceedings under Section 147/148 of the Income Tax Act, 1961. 2. Mechanical approval for reopening assessment under Section 151 of the Income Tax Act, 1961. 3. Addition under Section 68 of the Income Tax Act, 1961 for unexplained cash credits. 4. Addition of commission at the rate of 2% on the unexplained cash credits. Detailed Analysis: 1. Validity of the Reassessment Proceedings under Section 147/148 of the Income Tax Act, 1961: The assessee challenged the reassessment proceedings on multiple grounds, including the claim that the approval for reopening was granted in a mechanical manner and without independent satisfaction by the Assessing Officer (AO). The AO had initiated reassessment proceedings based on information from the Investigation Wing, Kolkata, regarding accommodation entries. The Tribunal found that the reasons recorded for reopening were based on presumptions and lacked independent verification by the AO. The Tribunal emphasized that the AO must record reasons after due application of mind, which was not evident in this case. Consequently, the reassessment proceedings were quashed. 2. Mechanical Approval for Reopening Assessment under Section 151 of the Income Tax Act, 1961: The assessee argued that the Principal Commissioner of Income Tax (Pr. CIT) granted approval for reopening the assessment mechanically, without proper application of mind. The Tribunal noted that the Pr. CIT merely mentioned "Yes" in the approval proforma without any detailed reasoning or evidence of having examined the material. Additionally, the proforma incorrectly cited Section 147(b), which was no longer in existence. Citing the Delhi High Court's decision in NC Cable Ltd., the Tribunal held that such mechanical approval invalidated the reassessment proceedings. 3. Addition under Section 68 of the Income Tax Act, 1961 for Unexplained Cash Credits: The AO had made an addition of ?64,66,80,000 under Section 68 for unexplained cash credits related to share capital and share premium received from 80 entities. The CIT(A) upheld the addition for four entities, totaling ?99,98,400, but deleted the rest. The Tribunal, however, did not delve into the merits of these additions as the reassessment proceedings were quashed on procedural grounds. 4. Addition of Commission at the Rate of 2% on the Unexplained Cash Credits: The AO also added a commission of 2% on the unexplained cash credits, presumed to have been paid for obtaining accommodation entries. The CIT(A) upheld this addition for the four entities but deleted it for the rest. As the reassessment proceedings were quashed, the Tribunal did not address the merits of this addition. Conclusion: The Tribunal quashed the reassessment proceedings due to the mechanical approval by the Pr. CIT and lack of independent satisfaction by the AO. Consequently, all additions made by the AO were rendered unsustainable. The appeal by the assessee was allowed, and the appeal by the Revenue was dismissed.
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