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2015 (8) TMI 707 - AT - Income TaxReopening of assessment - compensation received by the assessee of ₹ 3 lakhs is inadequate and the provisions of section 23(1)(a) should be invoked and the income received by the assessee should be assessed as income from house property instead of business income - Held that:- As from the “reasons recorded”, we find that there is no material change in the reasons and grounds taken for reopening the case as has been recorded in the earlier years, inasmuch as in this year also the Assessing Officer has sought to reopen the case on the ground that the compensation received by the assessee of ₹ 3 lakhs is inadequate and the provisions of section 23(1)(a) should be invoked and the income received by the assessee should be assessed as income from house property instead of business income. The said reasons again are in the realm of surmises sans any tangible material and information coming to the possession of the Assessing Officer so as to entertain to ‘reason to believe’ that any income chargeable to tax has escaped assessment. The so called information in the form of comparable example as referred by the Assessing Officer in “reasons” lacks credibility because nothing has been brought out regarding its comparability with the assessee. In any case the core issue and deciding factor here in the case of the assessee is that, whether the head of the income in which is to be assessed can be changed sans any tangible material. As discussed in earlier part that it is not trite that income from leased of business assets is to be taxed under the head income from house property only and not under any other heads of income. No facts and circumstances or material has been brought by the Assessing Officer that the income shown by the assessee now in these years has to be taxed as income from house property in contradistinction and complete departure from the past history, where income stood assessed and accepted as business income. In these years also the Assessing Officer has no concrete ‘reason to believe’ except for reopening the case for making the verification of the past records and facts. This cannot be the ground for reopening the assessment even though return of income filed by the assessee has been accepted u/s 143(1). Our finding and reasons given in the appeal in assessment year 2002-03 will apply here also in these years. Accordingly, the reopening of the assessment based on the aforesaid “reasons recorded” is bad in law and consequentially the proceedings initiated vide notices u/s 148 are quashed. Thus, the appeal of the assessee for the assessment year 2005-06 is treated as allowed, whereas the revenue’s appeal for the same year is treated as dismissed as the same has become purely academic in view of our aforesaid finding. - Decided in favour of assessee.
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