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DATE: June 7, 2018 (Date of pronouncement)
DATE: August 29, 2018 (Date of publication)
AY: 2010-11
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CITATION:
S. 159/ 292B: There is no obligation on the part of the legal representatives of a deceased assessee to intimate the death of the assessee or take steps to cancel the PAN registration. A notice issued in the name of a dead person is unenforceable in law. The fact that the Revenue had no knowledge about the death of the assessee does not change the law. The defect is fatal and is not curable u/s 292B. The legal representatives are liable u/s 159 only if proceedings have already been initiated when the assessee was alive and are continued against the legal heirs

Nothing has been placed before this Court by the Revenue to show that there is a statutory obligation on the part of the legal representatives of the deceased assessee to immediately intimate the death of the assessee or take steps to cancel the PAN registration.

18. In such circumstances, the question would be as to whether Section 159 of the Act would get attracted. The answer to this question would be in the negative, as the proceedings under Section 159 of the Act can be invoked only if the proceedings have already been initiated when the assessee was alive and was permitted for the proceedings to be continued as against the legal heirs

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DATE: August 16, 2018 (Date of pronouncement)
DATE: August 28, 2018 (Date of publication)
AY: 2004-05
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CITATION:
S. 147/ 148: The revenue played a subterfuge in trying to cover up its omission and in ante dating the record. The court hereby directs the Chief Commissioner to cause an inquiry to be conducted as to the involvement of the officials or employee in the manipulation of the record, and take strict disciplinary action, according to the concerned rules and regulations. This inquiry should be in regard to the conduct of the concerned AO posted at the time, who issued the notice under Section 147/148 as well as the officers who filed the affidavits in these proceedings

It goes without saying that whilst the “reasons” shown to the court and the petitioner may ipso facto not be faulted, yet the file tells a different story; they were not recorded before the impugned notice was issued. In fact, the revenue played a subterfuge, in trying to cover up its omission, and in ante dating the record, in the attempt to establish that such reasons existed, and this court’s interference was not called for. In these circumstances, this court hereby directs the Chief Commissioner concerned to cause an inquiry to be conducted as to the involvement of the officials or employee in the manipulation of the record in this case, and take strict disciplinary action, according to the concerned rules and regulations. This inquiry should be in regard to the conduct of the concerned AO posted at the time, who issued the notice under Section 147/148 as well as the officers who filed the affidavits in these proceedings. The investigation and consequential action shall be completed within four months

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DATE: July 23, 2018 (Date of pronouncement)
DATE: August 21, 2018 (Date of publication)
AY: 2005-06
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CITATION:
S. 147/50C: The assessment cannot be reopened (within 4 years) on the ground that the AO lost sight of a statutory provision like 50C. This amounts to a review. A.L.A. Firm 55 TM 497 (SC) distinguished on the basis that the reopening in that case was because the AO was unaware of a binding High Court judgement. Here it is not the case of the Revenue that the AO was not aware of s. 50C at the time of passing the S. 143(3) assessment order

The basis of reopening the assessment in A.L.A. Firm (Supra) was the decision in the case of G.R.Ramachari & Co. (Supra) coming to the knowledge of the Assessing Officer subsequent to the completion of assessment proceedings. In this case it is not the case of the Revenue that the Assessing Officer was not aware of Section 50C of the Act at the time of passing the Assessement Order dated 26.12.2007 under Section 143 of the Act. In this case the trigger to reopen assessment proceedings as recorded in the reasons is nonfurnishing of copy of the sale deed by the Respondent. This has been found factually to be incorrect. Therefore, once the sale deed was before Assessing Officer and enquiries were made during the assessment proceedings regarding the quantum of capital gains, it must follow that the Assessing Officer had while passing the order dated 26.12.2007 under Section 143(3) of the Act had taken view on facts and in law as in force at the relevant time. Thus, this is a case of change of opinion

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DATE: August 6, 2018 (Date of pronouncement)
DATE: August 10, 2018 (Date of publication)
AY: 2009-10
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CITATION:
S. 147/ 151: (i) Sanction granted by writing "Yes, I am satisfied" is not sufficient to comply with the requirement of s. 151 because it means that the approving authority has recorded satisfaction in a mechanical manner and without application of mind, (ii) If information is received from investigation wing that assessee was beneficiary of accommodation entries but no further inquiry was undertaken by AO, said information cannot be said to be tangible material per se and, thus, reassessment on said basis is not justified (All imp judgements referred)

This shows that the AO proceeded to initiate reassessment proceedings on the basis of borrowed satisfaction without any application of mind and exercise on the information received from the Investigation Wing of the Department. Therefore, we have no hesitation to hold that the AO proceeded to initiate reassessment proceedings u/s. 147 of the Act and to issue notice u/s. 148 of the Act on the basis of borrowed satisfaction and without any application of mind and examination of the so called material and information received from the investigation wing to establish any nexus, even prima facie, with the such information

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DATE: July 25, 2018 (Date of pronouncement)
DATE: July 31, 2018 (Date of publication)
AY: 2004-05
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CITATION:
S. 148/ 151: If the AO reopens the assessment by obtaining the sanction of the Commissioner of Income Tax instead of the Additional Commissioner of Income Tax, there is a breach of section 151 which renders the reopening void

It is undisputed position before us that in terms of Section 151(2) of the Act, the sanctioning/ permission to issue notice under Section 148 of the Act has to be issued by the Additional Commissioner of Income Tax. We find that the Assessing Officer had not sought the approval of the Designated Officer but of the Commissioner of Income Tax. This is clear from the Form used to obtain the sanction. In any case, the approval/ satisfaction recorded in the form submitted for sanction of the Commissioner of Income Tax by the Assessing Officer reproduced herein above, it is clear that the Additional Commissioner of Income Tax had not granted permission to initiate reopening proceedings against the Respondent Assessee

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DATE: July 6, 2018 (Date of pronouncement)
DATE: July 19, 2018 (Date of publication)
AY: 2010-11
FILE: Click here to view full post with file download link
CITATION:
S. 147/148: If the recorded reasons do not specify, prima-facie, the quantum of tax which has escaped assessment but merely state that it would be at least Rs.1,00,000, and if the reopening is to "verify" suspicious transactions, prima-facie, the reasons do not indicate reasonable belief of the AO and the notice is without jurisdiction

Further, the reasons also do not specify, prima-facie, the quantum of tax which has escaped assessment but merely states that it would be atleast be Rs.1,00,000/-. Prima-facie, we are of the view that the reasons recorded do not indicate reasonable belief of the Assessing Officer himself to issue the impugned notice

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DATE: July 2, 2018 (Date of pronouncement)
DATE: July 18, 2018 (Date of publication)
AY: 2004-05
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CITATION:
S. 147/ 143(2): If the notice u/s 143(2) is issued prior to the furnishing of return by the assessee in response to notice u/s 148, the notice issued u/s 143(2) is not valid and the reassessment framed on the basis of said notice has to be quashed. S. 292BB does not save the assessment (All judgements considered)

The proposal to reopen an assessment under section 147 of the Income-tax Act, 1961, is to be based on reasons to be recorded by the Assessing Officer. Such reasons have to be communicated to the assessee. Merely because the assessee participates in the proceedings pursuant to such notice under section 148 of the Act, it does not obviate the mandatory requirement of the Assessing Officer having to issue to the assessee a notice under section 143(2) of the Act before finalizing the order of reassessment. A reassessment order cannot be passed without compliance with the mandatory requirement of notice being issued by the Assessing Officer to the assessee under section 143(2). The requirement of issuance of such notice is a jurisdictional one. It does go to the root of the matter as far as the validity of the reassessment proceedings under section 147/148 of the Act is concerned

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DATE: June 19, 2018 (Date of pronouncement)
DATE: July 10, 2018 (Date of publication)
AY: 2007-08
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CITATION:
S. 147/148: If there is nothing in the recorded reasons to suggest that the income chargeable to tax which has escaped assessment is Rs. one lakh or more, the notice issued u/s 148 of the Act beyond four years of the end of the relevant assessment year is invalid

The second point which is very important is that in regard to the cases falling under section 34(1A), action can be taken only where the income which has escaped assessment is likely to amount to Rs.1 lakh or more. In other words, it is only in regard to cases where the escaped income is of a high magnitude that the restriction of the period of limitation has been removed. Since no reasons were recorded that the escaped income is likely to be Rs.1 lac or more so that the Chief Commissioner or Commissioner may record his satisfaction under section 151, the initiation of reassessment proceedings after more than four years was clearly barred by time

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DATE: June 19, 2018 (Date of pronouncement)
DATE: July 7, 2018 (Date of publication)
AY: 2008-09
FILE: Click here to view full post with file download link
CITATION:
S. 147/ 151: If the CIT merely states "Yes, I am satisfied" while granting sanction to the reopening, it means that the sanction is merely mechanical and he has not applied independent mind. There is not an iota of material on record as to what documents he had perused and what were the reasons for his being satisfied to accord the sanction to initiate the reopening of assessment (All judgements referred)

Apparently, from the approval recorded and words used that “Yes. I am satisfied.”, it has proved on record that the sanction is merely mechanical and Addl. CIT has not applied independent mind while according sanction as there is not an iota of material on record as to what documents he had perused and what were the reasons for his being satisfied to accord the sanction to initiate the reopening of assessment u/s 148 of the Act

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DATE: March 13, 2018 (Date of pronouncement)
DATE: June 13, 2018 (Date of publication)
AY: 2011-12
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CITATION:
S. 147: Law on reopening of assessments within four years and beyond four years explained with reference to all important case laws. Strictures passed against the AO for making comments which are highly objectionable and bordering on contempt and for being oblivious to law. As the very same ACIT had passed series of orders reopening assessments in ignorance of legal position, a compilation of judgments on reassessment proceedings should be furnished to the Commissioner to study the same. The position of law regarding the writ remedy is so settled, that it is understood even by the law students

The above observations made by the Assistant Commissioner of Income-Tax are highly objectionable and are bordering on contempt. We however, give him the benefit of doubt of being oblivious to law. We had, in fact, in an earlier Writ Petition No. 1000 of 2017, after noticing that the very same Assistant Commissioner of Income Tax had passed series of order reopening assessments in ignorance of legal position, had requested the learned Standing Counsel to furnish the compilation of judgments of reassessment proceedings to the learned Commissioner to study the same. The position of law regarding the writ remedy is so settled, that it is understood even by the law students

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