| COURT: | ITAT Lucknow |
| CORAM: | A. K. Garodia (AM), Sunil Kumar Yadav (JM) |
| SECTION(S): | 143(1), 147, 148, 80HHC |
| GENRE: | Domestic Tax |
| CATCH WORDS: | 143(1) assessment, Reopening, Retrospective amendment |
| COUNSEL: | S. S. Gupta |
| DATE: | September 18, 2014 (Date of pronouncement) |
| DATE: | October 5, 2014 (Date of publication) |
| AY: | |
| FILE: | Click here to download the file in pdf format |
| CITATION: | |
| Reopening of s. 143(1) assessment on the basis of the retrospective amendment of section 80HHC of the Act by the Taxation Law (Amendment) Act, 2005 is bad as the said amendment is struck doen in Avani Exports vs. CIT (Guj HC) | |
We find force in the contentions of the Revenue as the assessment order which was sought to be reopened by the Assessing Officer was only an intimation under section 143(1) of the Act and not a regular assessment under section 143(3) of the Act. Therefore, proviso to section 147 of the Act would not apply, but in the light of the judgment of the Hon’ble Gujarat High Court in the case of Avani Exports vs. CIT (supra), through which retrospective amendment was quashed, the assessment cannot be reopened on the basis of the said retrospective amendment. Since the basis for reopening of the assessment has been quashed by the Hon’ble High Court of Gujarat, the issue of reopening either before or after four years from the end of the relevant assessment year becomes irrelevant. Therefore, in the light of the aforesaid judgment of the Hon’ble Gujarat High Court in the case of Avani Exports vs. CIT (supra), we hold that reopening, on the basis of the retrospective amendment of section 80HHC of the Act by the Taxation Law (Amendment) Act, 2005, is illegal and we accordingly hold that the assessment framed consequent thereto is also illegal and deserves to be annulled.
Leave a Reply