2022 (10) TMI 895 - AT - Income Tax

Invalid Reopening of Assessment under Section 147: Lack of Material Link

The Tribunal found the reopening of assessment under section 147 of the I.T. Act for A.Y. 2013-14 to be invalid as there was no material connecting the ... Reopening of assessment u/s 147 - bogus long term capital gain in the scrip - HELD THAT:- AO has reopened the assessment of A.Y. 2013-14 on the basis of information relating to AY 2011-12. Admittedly the AO has not referred to any material relating to the AY 2013-14 for arriving at the belief that there was escapement of income in the hands of the assessee in A.Y. 2013-14. It is well settled principle of law that the material relied upon by the AO should have a live or proximate link with escapement of income. It was so held in the case of Amsa India Pvt. Ltd. [2017 (4) TMI 64 - DELHI HIGH COURT] and also in the case of Moser Bare India Ltd. [2012 (12) TMI 456 - DELHI HIGH COURT].There was material in the hands of the AO relating to assessment year under consideration for arriving at the belief that the Capital gains declared by the assessee in the return of income filed for A.Y. 2013-14 is bogus in nature.There is no live link between the material in the hands of the assessee and the belief entertained y him. AO has entertained such a belief only on the suspicion and surmises and not on the basis of any material. Accordingly hold that the reopening of assessment is bad in law. Accordingly we quash the impugned orders passed by the tax authorities on the legal issue. Appeal filed by the assessee is allowed. Issues:Challenging validity of reopening of assessment under section 147 of the I.T. Act.Analysis:The assessee filed an appeal challenging the order passed by the CIT(A) regarding the reopening of assessment for A.Y. 2013-14. The Assessing Officer had reopened the assessment based on information received that the assessee was involved in bogus long term capital gain in a particular scrip during the financial year 2010-11. However, the information pertained to A.Y. 2011-12, not to the year under consideration. The AR argued that there was no material available for A.Y. 2013-14 to support the belief that income had escaped assessment. The DR contended that the reopening was valid as it was based on information from the Investigation Wing. The Tribunal noted that the Assessing Officer lacked a live nexus between the information and the belief of income escapement for A.Y. 2013-14. Citing legal precedents, the Tribunal held that the belief was based on suspicion and surmises, lacking material basis, thus deeming the reopening of assessment as bad in law. Consequently, the Tribunal allowed the appeal and quashed the orders based on legal grounds, without the need to address merits.This judgment primarily revolves around the validity of reopening the assessment under section 147 of the I.T. Act for A.Y. 2013-14. The Assessing Officer reopened the assessment based on information related to bogus long term capital gains in a specific scrip during A.Y. 2011-12. However, the Tribunal found that there was no material linking the information to the belief of income escapement for A.Y. 2013-14. The Tribunal emphasized the necessity of a live or proximate link between the material and the escapement of income, citing legal precedents to support its decision. As a result, the Tribunal deemed the reopening of assessment as lacking a material basis and held it to be bad in law, ultimately allowing the appeal and quashing the orders solely on legal grounds.