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2017 (12) TMI 1801 - AT - Income TaxReopening of assessment u/s 147 - assessee had failed to disclose material facts pertaining to the EDC charges - HELD THAT:- Undisputedly EDC charges had been disclosed in the Balance Sheet of the assessee for the impugned year and which formed part of the documents filed with the return of income. Also it is not disputed that during assessment proceedings the assessee had disclosed EDC charges received during the year in the detail of “other liabilities” filed in response to questionnaire issued by the Assessing Officer. A perusal of the reasons recorded for reopening reveal that the information provided by the assessee itself, as pointed out above, formed the basis of reopening. In the first para of the reason, AO records “during perusal of records in this case, it was seen that EDC charges were received by the assessee.” - Thereafter the reasons only state the nature of the EDC charges, which is general and publicly known information, and further on inference and conclusion has been drawn therefrom that it is in the nature of revenue receipt of the assessee and hence chargeable to tax. AO thereafter states that since the assessee failed to include it in its income, the same has escaped assessment. And lastly the Assessing Officer mentions that “after independent verification of records with respect to the above mentioned facts”, I have reason to believe that income has escaped assessment. It was on the basis of already available information and not any new information pertaining to EDC charges that came in the possession of the Assessing Officer thereafter that led to the formation of belief that the EDC charges were in the nature of revenue receipt of the assessee and had thus escaped assessment. Therefore when the reopening was resorted to on the basis of material already on the file, the same having been provided by the assessee only during assessment proceedings, and nothing else, we fail to understand how the assessee could be charged with failure to disclose material facts relating to the said receipt. No merit in the contention of the Ld.DR that mere production of account books and balance sheet and profit and loss account will not tantamount to disclosure. No justification for the authorities below to justify the reopening of the assessment. The reopening is thus clearly bad in law and liable to be quashed. We accordingly set aside the orders of the authorities below and quash the reopening of the assessment u/s 147/148 of the Act - Decided in favour of assessee.
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