TMI Blog2022 (1) TMI 434X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ll material facts necessary for his assessment of that year. Both these conditions has to be satisfied before the AO could assume jurisdiction for issue of notice u/s 148 read with Section 147(a). But under the substituted Section 147 existence of only the first condition suffices. If the Assessing Officer has reason to believe that income has escaped assessment, that was enough to confer jurisdiction to reopen the assessment. For this view of the AO, that for issuing notice to reopen assessment, the Assessing Officer must only be satisfied that he had reasons to believe that income, profits and gains chargeable to income tax has escaped assessment and the second condition that such escapement has occurred by reason of either omission or ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ssment year and as the assessment under section 143(3) of the Act has also been completed, proviso to section 147 of the Act shall apply. Under section 147, there is a bar in re-opening the assessment after the expiry of four years where assessment under section 143(3) of the Act has been completed unless there has been failure on the part of petitioner to truly and fully disclose all material facts required for assessment. The onus is on the respondents to prove that there was such failure on the part of petitioner. 3. We have considered the reasons recorded for re-opening and there is a failure on the part of respondents to even disclose what was the material fact that petitioner failed to disclose. Using the words as there is a failu ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... en assessment, the Assessing Officer must only be satisfied that he had reasons to believe that income, profits and gains chargeable to income tax has escaped assessment and the second condition that such escapement has occurred by reason of either omission or failure on the part of the assessee to disclose fully or truly all material facts necessary for his assessment is not required, Mr. Suresh Kumar in fairness agreed that that view of the Assessing Officer was incorrect. Mr. Suresh Kumar, as an Officer of the Court, agreed that both these are preconditions which are required to be fulfilled when assessment is sought to be reopened after four years. A Division Bench of this Court in Sesa Goa Limited V/s. Joint Commissioner of Income Ta ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... t be competent for the Assessing Officer to issue a notice under Section 148. Even where the jurisdictional facts prescribed under Section 147 exist and all conditions laid down under Section 147 and the proviso thereto are satisfied, the notice under Section 148 can be issued only after the Assessing Officer has recorded his reasons for doing so under Sub-section (2) of Section 148 and has further obtained the necessary sanction for issuance of the notice as required under Section 151 of the Act. .. The restriction .. of a period of four years, . In the present case, the reasons which have been recorded by the Assessing Officer for reopening of the assessment do not disclose that the assessee had failed to disclose fully and trul ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... umbai and ors Writ Petition No.2814 of 2019 dated 14/09/2021. In the circumstances, we are satisfied that the notice dated 15/03/2019 under section 148 of the Act is issued without jurisdiction and requires to be set-aside. Consequently, the order dated 25/11/2019 impugned in the petition also requires to be set-aside. 6. Petition is allowed in terms of prayer clause (a) which reads as under :- a. to issue a Writ of Certiorari or a Writ in the nature Certiorari or any other appropriate Writ, Order or Direction under Article 226 of the Constitution of India calling for the records of the Petitioner s case and after examining the legality and validity thereof, quash and set aside the impugned notice dated 15th March 2019 (Exhibit ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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