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2016 (1) TMI 234 - HC - Income TaxReopening of assessment - reopening of the assessment is under the directives of the audit party - Held that:- Bare perusal of the correspondence reveals that the assessment was completed and, upon scrutiny, the internal audit party found certain errors. These errors were highlighted and pointed out to the Assessing Officer for his consideration. The Assessing Officer in his letter dated 03.12.2013 in no uncertain terms wrote back to the audit party stating that he did not agree to most of the objections of the audit party. He agreed to a limited extent of the excess claim of depreciation which the assessee had pointed out was a mistaken claim and agreed for rectification. The Assessing Officer, therefore, believed that this was the only ground which merited consideration and that too by way of exercising the power of rectification. This was abundantly clear and quite undisputably emerges from his letter dated 03.12.2013. Despite the clear stand of the Assessing Officer, the audit party persisted with the issues. On 14.02.2014, the audit party did not accept the view of the Assessing Officer and, as noted above, directed the Assessing Officer to take appropriate action and submit an action taken report on finalization of the proceedings, with supporting evidences through proper channel. This was a clear directive to the Assessing Officer not only to initiate action but also to finalize the same and report finalization with supporting evidences. As if this much was not enough to hold that the Assessing Officer was being controlled by the audit party, his letter dated 20.02.2014 to the audit party left no possibility of any doubt. In such letter, he recorded the objection of the audit party at length and finally meekly stated that, in view of the above, the internal audit party has not accepted the reply on the said issues and ultimately proceeded to record that the most suitable remedial action in such case would be to reopen the assessment under section 147 of the Act which is contrary to his earlier view where on a limited ground of depreciation he had advocated measures of rectification.- Decided in favour of assessee
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