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2019 (9) TMI 336 - AT - Income TaxReopening of assessment u/s 147 - arriving at the ‘satisfaction’ for escapement’ of Income warranting recourse to notice under section 148 - unexplained investment - reasons to believe or reason to suspect - HELD THAT:- reopening cannot be justified on any other material other than referred in the reasons recorded. Though in notice dated 19.01.15 the learned Addl. CIT, required the assessee to prove the sources of investment, in the forwarding letter addressed to the learned Assessing officer he even directed the learned Assessing officer to enquire about the sources of investment but to the advantage of the assessee while issuing notice dated 24.03.2015 no such query was made by the learned Assessing officer from the assessee. CIT(A) was factually not correct in holding that sources of investment were not satisfactorily explained before AO and which has led to satisfaction of the Assessing officer for escapement of income. The text of the reasons recorded do proves that virtually there has been no application of mind by the learned Assessing officer so as to form requisite satisfaction that any income has escaped assessment and that the reasons recorded in the case in hands are no reasons in the eye of lawas being completely barren and bald in nature. The content of reasons does not reveal that the AO has done some exercise by way of any enquiry having been conducted by him before arriving at the satisfaction for escapement of income. Reasons are his conclusions, leaving the reader to guess for the material on basis of which the belief of escapement is founded. In fact, the aforesaid reasons are instead of being reasons to believe are reasons to suspect. Mental exercise must be self-evident from the reasons recorded. Reasons must be self-speaking and self-defending. The purported reasons do not show any such exercise by the learned Assessing officer and hence we have no hesitation in holding that the learned Assessing officer has exceed his authority in wrongly acquiring the jurisdiction in the matter. - Decided in favour of assessee
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