2019 (9) TMI 1262 - AT - Income Tax

Reopening of assessment - Claim of exemption u/s 10A - HELD THAT - It is clear from the reasons recorded that Assessing Officer clearly mentioned that the assessee made irregular claim of deduction/exemption u/s 10A and it is clear that on alleged wrong claim made by the assessee, the Assessing Officer reopened the assessment. Therefore it is established that without having any new material but on mere change of opinion, the assessment was reopened by the Assessing Officer, in our opinion, the assessment made thereon u/s 147 of the Act is not maintainable. Assessee filed objections questioning the reasons recorded for initiation of proceedings u/s 147 of the Act. On perusal of the assessment order, it is noted that nowhere the AO discussed about the objections raised by the assessee and without considering the same proceeded to reopen the assessment, is bad in law. Assessee filed all the details such as audited accounts, tax audit report u/s 44AB and required documents for claim of exemption u/s 10A of the Act in the original assessment proceedings itself and having accepted the same, the Assessing Officer cannot reopen the same assessment again by recording that the income has escaped by virtue of being making a wrong claim. It is also noted from the record that from Assessment Year 2001-02 to 2009-10, the claim u/s 10A of the Act were allowed except Assessment Year 2007-08 which is under consideration before us. Department of Revenue has been granting deduction u/s 10A to the assessee in earlier assessments as well as in subsequent assessments. Therefore, there was no new tangible material was brought on record by the Assessing Officer and in the absence of which the Assessing Officer is not entitled to reopen the assessment and it is merely a change of opinion - Decided in favour of assessee.

Summary

Issues:
Challenging confirmation of reassessment u/s 147 of the Act.

Analysis:
The appellant contested the reassessment made under section 147 of the Act, arguing that the Assessing Officer reopened the assessment without any new material indicating income escapement. During the original assessment, all details regarding the claim of exemption u/s 10A of the Act were furnished by the assessee. The appellant objected to the reasons recorded for reopening the assessment, emphasizing that the Assessing Officer merely changed opinion without valid grounds. The Tribunal noted that the Assessing Officer's reasons for reopening the assessment were based on an alleged irregular claim of deduction/exemption u/s 10A, without any new material. It was established that the assessment was reopened solely on a change of opinion, rendering it unsustainable in law. The Tribunal further highlighted that objections raised by the assessee were not addressed by the Assessing Officer before proceeding with the reassessment, which was deemed unlawful. Given that all necessary details were provided during the original assessment and previous assessments allowed the claim u/s 10A, the reassessment was deemed unjustified. Consequently, the reassessment completed under section 143(3)/147 of the Act was quashed, and the order of the CIT(A) was set aside, allowing Ground Nos.1 to 3 raised by the assessee.

Additional Points:
Ground No.4, concerning the merits of the case, became irrelevant following the decision on the reassessment issue. As a result, it required no further consideration. Ground No.5 was not pursued by the assessee. Ultimately, the appeal of the assessee was allowed by the Tribunal, with the order pronounced in open court on 07.08.2019.