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2021 (10) TMI 427 - HC - Income TaxReopening of assessment u/s 147 - power to review v/s power to reassess - reasons recorded by the assessment officer are based on the alleged receipt of sale consideration by the assessees in terms of the sale deed - HELD THAT:- There was no omission on the part of the assessees to disclose fully or truly all the material facts necessary for the assessment Year 2010-11. There is no dispute that the assessees had purchased the property in question for ₹ 1.36 crores or thereabouts in the year 2006. Even in terms of the reasons furnished by the assessing officer the indexed cost for the Assessment Year 2010-11 came to ₹ 1.66 crores or thereabouts. From the material relied upon by the respondents, only an amount of ₹ 1 crore was actually received by the assessees during the Assessment Year 2010-11. Thus, for the said assessment year, there was no question of any capital gains and consequently, no question of any income escaping assessment. Only material relied upon by the assessing officer, in this case, is the material supplied by the assessees themselves along with their return for the Assessment Year 2015- 16. There is nothing in this material that could constitute a ground for a reason to believe that there was a failure to disclose a material fact and further, that an income had escaped assessment for the Assessment Year 2010-11. The reasons stated by the assessing officer speak about the receipt of ₹ 3 crores by the assessees during the Assessment Year 2010-11. However, based on the very material relied upon by the assessing officer, this contention was virtually given up and a new reason about “accrual” was sought to be put forward. The decision in Kelvinator of India Ltd. [2010 (1) TMI 11 - SUPREME COURT] assists the case of the petitioners because this decision holds that the assessing officer has the power to reopen the assessment provided there is tangible material to conclude that there is escapement of income from assessment and further, the reasons must have a live link with the formation of the belief. A mere change in opinion cannot be a reason to reopen. This decision holds that there is a conceptual difference between power to review and power to reassess and that the assessing officer has no power to simply review. - Decided in favour of assessee.
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