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2019 (8) TMI 410 - HC - Income TaxReopening of assessment u/s 147 - ‘live link’ between the material in the form of the investigation report and the formation of belief that income that has escaped assessment - HELD THAT:- On a perusal of the report of the investigation which was produced before this Court, it appears prima facie that there was sufficient material to justify the reopening of the assessment in both sets of cases. Further, upon reading the reasons to believe as a whole the ‘live link’ between the material in the form of the investigation report and the formation of belief that income that has escaped assessment is prima facie discernable. Where a similar challenge is made to the reopening of assessments by issuing notice u/s 148 of the Act, where the Court invariably directs as an interim measure that the re-assessment proceedings may go on but no final order should be passed during the pendency of the petition, in the present case the Court ordered a total stay of further proceedings pursuant to the impugned notices dated 31st March 2015. This in effect meant that the re-assessment proceedings before the AO did not progress. With the Court disinclined to interfere at this stage for the reasons explained above, it would be open to the two Petitioners to advance all the arguments made by them in these petitions, except the point that the reopening constitutes a change of opinion, before the AO. This would include the point urged by Mr. Chetan Sabharwal that the reopening is bad in law because the reasons do not expressly state that there was a failure on his part to disclose fully and truly all material facts in relation to his assessment. Consequently, this Court would not like to further dwell on the other points urged before this Court on behalf of the Petitioners or express a view one way or the other on them except to hold that at this stage the Court, prima facie, finds no merit in the contention that there is no live nexus between the material relied upon and the reasons to believe that income has escaped assessment in both sets of cases.
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