High Court upholds Revenue's challenge to income escaping assessments under Income Tax Act

The High Court allowed the Revenue's review petition challenging the validity of income escaping assessments under section 147 of the Income Tax Act for the assessment year 2003-04. The assessments were held to be valid, overturning the Tribunal's decision and previous High Court rulings. The judgment for other years stands, unless new issues are raised.

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Issues involved: Review petition filed by Revenue challenging the validity of income escaping assessments completed u/s 147 of the Income Tax Act for the assessment years 1999-2000, 2001-02, 2002-03, and 2003-04.

Validity of Income Escaping Assessments (u/s 147): The Tribunal had cancelled the assessments as invalid, following decisions of Delhi High Court and Madras High Court. However, the High Court held that the assessments are valid, disagreeing with the previous decisions. The Revenue filed a review petition based on the Supreme Court's order in SLP Nos.1922-1923 of 2008, challenging the Delhi High Court's decision. Citing a Supreme Court case, the High Court concluded that the dismissal of the appeal was incorrect, and allowed the Review Petition. The judgment for other years remains unaffected, but any other issues raised will be revived for decision if not previously decided by the authorities.

Decision: The Review Petition was allowed, and the appeal relating to the assessment year 2003-04 was reversed to restore the assessment as valid. The judgment for other years remains unchanged, except for any additional issues raised in the appeal.

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