TMI Blog2014 (2) TMI 949X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... e decision in Phool Chand Bajrang Lal And Another Versus Income-Tax Officer And Another [1993 (7) TMI 1 - SUPREME Court] relied upon - there is no material or information on record that relates to income in 1990-91 that may justify the reopening of assessment for the year 1990-91 – there is no reason to believe that income has escaped assessment for the year 1990-91 – thus, the reassessment notice served to the assessee in respect of the year 1990-91 by the Revenue is liable to be quashed. Claim of depreciation of re-valued assets – Held that:- The decision in Apollo Tyres Ltd. v. CIT [2002 (5) TMI 5 - SUPREME Court] followed - the Assessing Officer cannot open the accounts which have been drawn in accordance with the Companies Act, 1956 ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... eals), who by an order dated 20.07.1994 (in Appeal No. 43/93-4) partly allowed the appeal. The assessee further appealed against this order before the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal, Delhi, which was pending at the time of the filing of this writ petition. 3. Meanwhile, there was a search and seizure under Section 132 of the Act on the business as well as residential premises of the assessee and its Managing Director on 13.10.1992, whereby some books of account, vouchers and other documents, along with cash, were seized. Based on the material recovered, the Assessing Officer, who was still considering the returns for the year 1990-91 at the time, framed the assessment for the year on 23.03.1993 and 20.09.1993. Subsequently, on 26.04.1995, ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... 43(2) cannot be served on an assessee after 12 months from the end of the month in which the return is furnished pursuant to a notice under Section 148 of the Act. During the course of the proceedings, learned counsel for the assessee drew the attention of the Court to the reasons recorded by the Assessing Officer for reopening the assessment. As the assessment of the years 1989-90, 1990-91 and 1992-93 were all reopened together, this document - dated 26.04.1995 - pertains to all three years. The reasons provided by the Assessing Officer will be discussed below. 5. Section 147 permits the reopening of an assessment, and the issuance of notices etc., if the "Assessing Officer has reason to believe that any income chargeable to tax has esca ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... Tax Officer, Calcutta and Ors., (1996) 9 SCC 534. Equally, as held in CIT v. Kelvinator of India Ltd., 2010 (320) ITR 561 (SC). Section 148 does not clothe the Assessing Officer with power to review his previous order; nor is it such as to enable him to correct a previous view, akin to revisional power under Section 263. The power to reopen an assessment cannot be also based on a change of opinion; it is narrowly premised on the unearthing of some "tangible material" which was hitherto unavailable. Then and then alone, would the AO be legitimately entitled to issue notice for reassessment. 7. In this case, the reasons provided by the Assessing Officer for reopening the assessment pertain to three years, 1989-90, 1990-91 and 1992-93. Two ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ueries and details about the same "fictitious entities" in respect of which amounts were reflected in the returns and documents disclosed at the time of the assessment. Thus, there was no "tangible" material apart from what existed at the finalization of the original assessment, undermining the exercise of reassessment notice in this case. 8. This information received from the bank as to these 4 fictitious companies - which forms the information on which the Assessing Officer forms his belief under Section 147 - does not and cannot relate to the year 1990-91. As the reasons recorded above indicate themselves, the accounts were allegedly created, and thus, money transacted through them by the assessee, only after the death of one Ramesh D. ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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