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2022 (12) TMI 1224 - AT - Income TaxReopening of assessment u/s 147 - reason to believe - HELD THAT:- AO bears no nexus with the material available on record and is merely based on suspicion, does not find favor with me. As per the settled position of law, the A.O for taking recourse to proceedings u/s 147 is required to arrive at a bonafide belief on the basis of material available on record that the income of the assessee chargeable to tax had escaped assessment. No obligation is cast upon the A.O at the stage of taking recourse to proceedings u/s 147 to conclusively prove that the income of the assessee chargeable to tax had escaped assessment. As is discernible from the aforesaid “reasons to believe”, A.O had clearly arrived at a bonafide belief on the basis of the material available with him that the income of the assessee chargeable to tax had escaped assessment. Accordingly, finding no substance in the claim of the ld. A.R that the belief of the AO that the income of the assessee chargeable to tax had escaped assessment has no nexus with the material available on record, and is merely based on a pretence, does not find favor with me, as there was sufficient material available with the A.O for taking recourse to proceedings u/s.147 - Thus, the additional ground of appeal No.1 raised by the assessee is dismissed in terms of the aforesaid observations. Claim of the Ld. AR that there is no independent application of mind by the A.O, and the proceedings u/s.147 of the Act have been initiated by him on the basis of a borrowed satisfaction - We are unable to subscribe to the same. On a careful perusal of the “reasons to believe”, find that the A.O after referring to the material as was available before him had clearly applied his mind, and had on the basis of a bonafide belief so arrived at by him taken recourse to proceedings u/s.147 of the Act. Quality of the “reasons to believe”, as per the settled position of law, cannot be allowed as a basis for the assessee to assail the validity of jurisdiction assumed by the A.O u/s.147 of the Act. Thus, the additional ground of appeal No.2 raised by the assessee is dismissed in terms of the aforesaid observations. Claim of the assessee that as the “reasons to believe” was followed by issuance of notice u/s.148 of the Act on the same date, i.e., on 31.03.2017 after obtaining approval of the appropriate authority u/s.151 - On a perusal of the sanction granted by the appropriate authority u/s.151 of the Act, I find that the latter had approved the “reasons to believe” recorded by the A.O with an observation that the case was fit for reopening, and thus, had granted sanction for issuing notice u/s.148 of the Act. I, thus, not finding any merit in the aforesaid claim of the ld. A.R reject the same. Thus, the additional ground of appeal No.3 raised by the assessee is dismissed in terms of the aforesaid observations.
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