Recording reasons before reassessment notice is mandatory; reopening without prior reasons was held invalid and quashed.

A reopening notice under Section 24 of the Delhi Sales Tax Act, 1975 is invalid unless the Assessing Officer has material on record, applies his mind, and records reasons before issuing notice. The Court treated this recording requirement as mandatory, reinforced by the departmental circular requiring reasons to be entered on the order-sheet before notice. As no reasons were recorded before issuance, the reopening was contrary to the statutory scheme and the notice, with subsequent proceedings, was quashed.

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Issues: Whether a notice reopening a completed assessment under Section 24 of the Delhi Sales Tax Act, 1975 is valid when the Assessing Officer has not recorded reasons before issuing the notice.

Analysis: The reopening power under Section 24 is not mechanical or plenary. It requires the Assessing Officer to have material on record, apply his mind to that material, and record the reasons that form the basis of the belief that reassessment is necessary. The Commissioner's Circular No. 7 of 2001-02 dated 03.03.2001 also required that reasons be invariably recorded on the order-sheet before issuing notice under the provision. Since the record showed that no reasons had been recorded before issuance of the notice, the reopening was contrary to the statutory requirement as interpreted by the Court and to the binding departmental circular.

Conclusion: The notice reopening the completed assessment was invalid and the subsequent proceedings were liable to be quashed; the issue was decided in favour of the assessee.

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