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2022 (3) TMI 172 - AT - Income TaxReopening of assessment u/s 147 - Valid grant of approval u/s. 151 or not - As per assessee authority granting the sanction u/s. 151 of the Act, viz. Pr. CIT, Bhatinda, had granted the approval in a mechanical manner, i.e., without application of mind - HELD THAT:- A mere scribbling or stating "Yes" would not suffice the statutory requirement of Sec. 151 of the Act, i.e., satisfaction on the part of the sanctioning authority, on the reasons recorded by the A.O, that it is a fit case for issuance of a notice u/s. 148 of the Act. As provided in Section 151 of the Act, no notice u/s. 148 is to be issued by an AO unless the specified approving authority is satisfied, on the reasons recorded by the AO, that it is a fit case for the issue of such notice Section 151 requires an officer of the rank of a Joint Commissioner of Income-tax to oversee the decision of the AO where the return originally filed was assessed u/s. 143(3) of the Act, and further, in a case where such reopening of an assessment is sought to be made after the expiry of a period of four years from the end of the relevant assessment year, then, the said obligation is shifted on a superior officer as therein contemplated. In our considered view, as the reopening of a case results to disturbing the finality of a concluded assessment, therefore, the authorities specified for granting of approval u/s. 151 of the Act remain under a statutory obligation of clearly applying their mind on the "reasons to believe" recorded by the AO and, only after being satisfied that it is a fit case for issuance of Notice u/s. 148 of the Act, approve the same. In our considered view, mere scribbling of "Yes" by the approving authority, as is the case before us, can by no means suffice the statutory obligation cast upon him for granting approval after due application of mind for issuance of notice u/s. 148 of the Act by the AO, as the said statutory check would otherwise be rendered as a mere idle formality, nugatory or in fact nothing better than an eye wash, which would beyond any doubt defeat the very purpose for which the said supervisory jurisdiction of the superior authorities had been made available on the statute by the legislature. Our aforesaid conviction is supported by the order of this Tribunal in the case of Shri Charanjiv Lal Aggarwal[2017 (4) TMI 390 - ITAT AMRITSAR] and SHRI TRALOCHAN SINGH [2021 (9) TMI 329 - ITAT AMRITSAR] We, thus, in terms of our aforesaid observations, are of the considered view, that as in case of the assessee before us the prescribed authority, viz. Principal Commissioner of Income-Tax, Bhatinda, had granted the approval u/s. 151 of the Act in a mechanical manner, i.e., without application of mind to the facts of the case as were there before him, therefore, the assessment framed by the AO u/ss. 143(3)/147 cannot be sustained and is liable to be vacated. - Decided in favour of assessee.
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