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2022 (10) TMI 765 - AT - Income TaxReopening of assessment us 147 - Eligible reasons to believe - Whether reopening proceedings on the ground that from the reasons it is not discernible as to whether the AO has applied his mind to the information and independently arrived at a belief that income has escaped assessment? - HELD THAT:- Reasons referred to must disclose process of reasoning by which the Assessing Officer holds reason to believe. There must be nexus between such material and belief. Further and most importantly the reasons referred to must show application of mind by the AO. It is also a settled law that the validity of the initiation of the reassessment proceeding is to be judged with reference to the material available with the AO at the point of time of the issue of notice under section 148. In the present case, as is evident from the assessment order, the Assessing Officer was having nothing except the list provided by the CIT, Central-2, New Delhi about the list of accommodation entries. Beyond that he was not having the copies of the statement of any of these persons. He was not having copy of the assessment orders and other details or document which would have enabled the Assessing Officer to apply his mind and form a belief that income has escaped assessment. In fact this information was not with the Assessing Officer till fag end of the reassessment proceedings, a fact admitted by the Assessing Officer himself in the assessment order. In the case of Sarthak Securities Pvt. Ltd. [2010 (10) TMI 92 - DELHI HIGH COURT] the Hon’ble jurisdictional High Court has held that under the circumstances narrated hereinabove the reopening cannot be said to be a valid reopening. Thus reopening of the assessment is without application of mind and examination of the facts and accordingly the reopening is held to be invalid and accordingly the same is quashed - Decided in favour of assessee.
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