TMI Blog2015 (8) TMI 411X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... Income-tax, Guwahati - 1 Versus Sonitpur Solves Ltd. [2013 (4) TMI 422 - GAUHATI HIGH COURT ] - Decided in favour of assessee. - I. T. A. No 116 /Gau/ 2007 - - - Dated:- 19-1-2015 - H. L. KARWA AND RAJENDRA, JJ. For the Appellant : Ramesh Goenka and Amit Goenka, authorised representative For the Respondent : P. K. Mondal ORDER Rajendra (Accountant Member).- Challenging the order dated February 19, 2007 of the Commissioner of Income-tax (Appeals) (CIT (A)), Guwahati the assessee has raised the following grounds of appeal : 1. The learned Commissioner of Income-tax (Appeals) ought to have held that the order passed under section 143(3)/147 of the Income-tax Act, 1961, by the Assessing Officer was illegal and wi ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... n, the Assessing Officer issued notice under section 148 of the Income-tax Act, 1961 (the Act) recording the following reasons for reopening the assessment : On verification of the records it is seen that the assessee-company has received subsidy ₹ 44,75,289 from the Government of Assam which was not included in the total income of the assessee during year 1996-97 relevant to the assessment year 1997-98. As such notice under section 154 was issued to the assessee in view of the decision of the hon'ble Supreme Court in the case of Sahney Steel and Press Works Ltd. v. CIT [1997] 228 ITR 253 (SC). The assessee in reply of notice under section 154 submitted an application dated August 8, 2003 stating that this is ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... 28, 2003 that as per the proviso to section 147 of the Act no action could be taken after expiry of four years from the end of the relevant assessment year unless income chargeable to tax had escaped assessment by reason of failure on the part of the assessee to disclose fully and truly all material facts necessary for assessment, that there was no failure on the part of the assessee, that action for initiation of proceedings under section 147 of the Act should have been initiated on or before March 31, 2002, that proceedings were initiated only in November, 2003, that the same were barred by limitation. After considering the submissions of the assessee and the assessment order passed by the Assessing Officer, the first appellate authority ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... four years should be based on the failure of the assessee. As there was no failure by the assessee to disclose material facts truly and fully, therefore, the notice issued by the Assessing Officer under section 148 of the Act was not valid. We find that the hon'ble Gauhati High Court in the case of Sonitpur Solvex [2013] 352 ITR 305 (Gauhati) has dealt with an identical issue. In that matter, the Assessing Officer had reopened the assessment recording the following reasons (page 318) : On verification of the records it is seen that the assessee-company has received subsidy ₹ 24,70,559 from the Government of Assam which was not included in the total income of the assessee during the year 1996-97 relevant to the ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... , for that assessment year, is the sine qua non for assumption of jurisdiction by the Assessing Officer for reassessment of income, which escaped disclosure. We are fortified in taking the view from the decision in Duli Chand Singhania v. Asst. CIT [2004] 269 ITR 192 (P H). 33. In the present case, reassessment proceeding was initiated beyond the period of limitation of four years as prescribed by section 147. This could have been overridden had there been, on the part of the assessee, omission or failure to disclose 'fully and truly' all material facts necessary for his assessment for the given assessment year. 34. Since the present case did not suffer from non-disclosure or omission to disclose 'fully ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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