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2015 (7) TMI 840 - ITAT HYDERABADValidity of re-assessment proceeding - assessee urged that reassessment proceedings were initiated after the expiry of the 4-years from the end of the relevant assessment year without the sanction of the concerned Principal C.I.T. or C.I.T., as the case may be - Held that:- Assessing Officer is not bound to blindly follow the order of Hon’ble Tribunal without applying his mind independently to the facts of the case, as to whether the ingredients that are required to be satisfied before initiation of reassessment proceedings are satisfied or not. The Assessing Officer, in this case, had not applied mind of his own at all and proceeded with reassessment proceedings solely based on the order of the Hon’ble Tribunal. It is trite law that the reassessment proceedings are valid in law only when the Assessing Officer applied his mind independently to the information on hand. In the present case, it is not at all discernible as to whether the Assessing Officer had applied his mind independently and arrived at a belief that on the basis of material, which he had before him, income had escaped assessment. The Assessing Officer had not even recorded his satisfaction about the correctness or otherwise of the finding given by the Hon’ble Tribunal. What is recorded by the Assessing Officer as his “reasons to believe” is nothing but reproduction of a portion of order of Hon’ble Tribunal. The provisions of sub-section (3) of Section 149 mandates that where the income escaping the assessment belongs to a non-resident, and the reassessment is to be made on agent of non-resident in accordance with the provisions of Sec. 163 of the Act, the notice u/s.148 should be issued only within the period of two years from the end of the relevant assessment year up to 30.06.2012 or within a period of six years subsequent to 30.06.2012. In this case, the relevant assessment year is 2006-07. Reassessment notice was required to be issued on or before 31.3.2008. Whereas, in the case on hand the reassessment notice was issued on 30.03.2013, which is clearly beyond the period of limitation prescribed under sub-section (3) of Section 149 of the Act. The amended period of six years is applicable only from the assessment year 2012-13 onwards as per the Explanation to the above sub-section. Thus, viewed from any angle, the reassessment proceedings launched by the Assessing Officer cannot be upheld - Decided in favour of assessee.
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