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2022 (6) TMI 1145 - AT - Income TaxValidity of Reopening of assessment u/s 147 - requirement of recording of “reasons to believe” - validity of jurisdiction assumed by the AO for reopening the case of the assessee - disallowing claim of deduction u/s.54F - HELD THAT:- Assessing Officer had issued Notice u/s. 148 without recording the “reasons to believe” on the basis of which the case of the assessee was reopened by him. In our considered view, the failure on the part of the Assessing Officer to record “reasons to believe” prior to issuance of notice u/s.148, ould go to the very root of the validity of jurisdiction assumed by him u/s. 147 of the Act. Our aforesaid view, i.e., the absence of recording of “reasons to believe” by the Assessing Officer prior to issuance of Notice u/s. 148 would render the jurisdiction assumed by him for reopening the case of the assessee u/s.147 of the Act and resultantly the consequential assessment so framed as invalid as relying on cases Abdul Majid [2005 (5) TMI 24 - ALLAHABAD HIGH COURT], Baldwin Boys High School [2015 (2) TMI 806 - KARNATAKA HIGH COURT], Shiv Ratan Soni and Baldev Singh Giani [2000 (9) TMI 42 - PUNJAB AND HARYANA HIGH COURT] Requirement of recording of “reasons to believe” enshrined u/s. 148(1) of the Income Tax Act, 1961 was mandatory on the part of the Assessing Officer. Observing, that the assessment record did not contain reasons recorded by the Assessing Officer, thus the notice of reassessment proceedings had to be treated as nullity. Thus we are of the considered view, that as the Assessing Officer prior to issuance of Notice u/s.148 had failed to record “reasons to believe”, therefore, he had wrongly assumed jurisdiction and framed the impugned assessment u/s.148/143(3) - Decided in favour of assessee.
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