Reopening of assessment - reason to believe or reason to suspect ...

Case Laws     Income Tax

March 23, 2024

Reopening of assessment - reason to believe or reason to suspect - The ITAT examined the "reasons recorded" by the AO for reopening the assessment. It noted that the AO relied on the information provided by the SEBI order, which alleged manipulative trading practices by certain entities, including the director of the assessee company. However, the court observed that the name of the assessee company itself was not listed among the entities restrained by SEBI. - The Tribunal emphasized that for the reopening of an assessment, the AO must have "reasons to believe" that income has escaped assessment, not merely "reasons to suspect." It found that the information provided by the SEBI order could only trigger "reasons to suspect" and did not meet the legal requirement for reopening.

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