Reassessment on same material is invalid when reopening rests only on a change of opinion, not fresh information.

Reassessment under section 147(b) was held invalid where the Income-tax Officer reopened the assessment on the basis of the same material already examined in the original proceedings, including the assessee's section 35B claim. The court held that the statutory condition for reassessment requires fresh information leading to a reason to believe that income has escaped assessment; a mere different appreciation of existing records is only a change of opinion and does not confer jurisdiction. The question was answered against the Revenue and in favour of the assessee.

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Issues: Whether proceedings for reassessment under section 147(b) of the Income-tax Act, 1961 were validly initiated on the ground of information where the Income-tax Officer had already considered the relevant material in the original assessment and the later action was based only on a fresh view of the same material.

Analysis: Reassessment under section 147(b) requires information in consequence of which the Income-tax Officer has reason to believe that income has escaped assessment. The material placed before the assessing authority had already been examined in the original assessment, including the assessee's claim under section 35B of the Income-tax Act, 1961. The later reopening did not rest on any new fact, external source, or subsequent legal development, but on a different appreciation of the same record. Such a mere change of opinion, without fresh information, does not satisfy the statutory condition for invoking reassessment jurisdiction.

Conclusion: The reassessment proceedings were not validly initiated and the question was answered against the Revenue and in favour of the assessee.

Ratio Decidendi: Reassessment under section 147(b) cannot be founded on a mere change of opinion on the same material already considered in the original assessment unless there is subsequent information within the meaning of the provision.

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