2010 (4) TMI 102 - HC - Income Tax

Reassessment u/s 147 – notice u/s 148 – proprietor has admitted that on oath that the transactions through bank account No. 003097 of Corporation Bank were only paper transactions in which the party was intending to take bills paid in cash and issue cheques/ drafts showing the said amounts as sale of shares. It was further informed that the assessee was neither a share broker nor a member of any stock exchange and that he was doing the work of giving entries. Further information was given that the entry of ₹ 20,70,000/- in account No. 003097 dated 28.02.98 and 01.03.1998 was nothing but entry taken by paying cash – held that - Supreme Court in Rajesh Jhaveri (2008 -TMI - 6563 - SUPREME Court) made it absolutely clear that before an Assessing Officer issues a notice under Section 148, thereby re-opening the assessment under Section 147 of the said Act, he must have formed a belief that income had escaped assessment and that there must be some basis for forming such a belief. The Supreme Court made it clear that the basis of such belief could be discerned from the material on record which was available with the Assessing Officer. However, the Supreme Court in Rajesh Jhaveri (2008 -TMI - 6563 - SUPREME Court) did not say that it was not necessary for the Assessing Officer to form a “belief” and that the mere fact that there was some material on record was sufficient. - From the so-called reasons, it is not at all discernible as to whether the Assessing Officer had applied his mind to the information and independently arrived at a belief that, on the basis of the material which he had before him, income had escaped assessment. Consequently, we find that the Tribunal has arrived at the correct conclusion on facts. The law is well settled – decided in favor of assessee