Reassessment on mere change of opinion is impermissible; reopening needs a legally sustainable basis beyond the same material.

Reassessment under section 147 of the Income-tax Act cannot be initiated solely on a mere change of opinion. A completed assessment is presumed to involve application of mind, and reopening on the same material would amount to revisiting an earlier omission rather than acting on a legally sustainable basis. The substituted section 147, read with the statutory scheme and CBDT circular, does not permit reopening merely because the Assessing Officer later forms a different view. Reassessment therefore requires a valid basis beyond reappraisal of the same material.

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Issues: Whether reassessment could be initiated under section 147 of the Income-tax Act, 1961 on a mere change of opinion by the Assessing Officer.

Analysis: The legal position was treated as settled that reassessment cannot be founded only on a change of opinion. A regular assessment carries a presumption of application of mind, and reopening on the same material would effectively permit the authority to benefit from its own earlier omission. The substituted section 147, read with the statutory scheme and the CBDT circular, does not confer power to reopen completed assessments merely because a different view is later formed.

Conclusion: Reassessment on a mere change of opinion is impermissible. The question referred was answered in the affirmative, in favour of the assessee and against the revenue.

Ratio Decidendi: Section 147 does not authorise reopening of a completed assessment solely on a mere change of opinion; reassessment requires a legally sustainable basis beyond a reappraisal of the same material.

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