Change of opinion cannot justify reassessment when reopening rests only on same material and an audit opinion on law.

Reassessment under section 147(b) was invalid because it was based on a mere change of opinion on the same material already examined in the original assessment. The reopening relied on an internal audit party's view that the predecessor had erred in excluding the minors' income for the full year, but such an audit opinion on a point of law was not treated as information within the meaning of the provision. Without fresh information, reappraisal of existing material did not confer jurisdiction to reopen the assessment, and the reassessment was set aside in favour of the assessee.

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Issues: Whether reassessment under section 147(b) of the Income-tax Act, 1961 was valid where the reopening was founded on an audit party's view and a reconsideration of the same material already examined in the original assessment.

Analysis: The reopening was held to rest on a mere change of opinion. The original assessment had already considered the relevant material, and the subsequent reopening was based on the view that the predecessor had committed an error in not including the minors' income for the whole year. The opinion of an internal audit party on a point of law was not treated as information for the purpose of section 147(b). Reappraisal of the same material, without fresh information, did not confer jurisdiction to reopen the assessment.

Conclusion: The reopening under section 147(b) was invalid and unsustainable in law, and the reassessment was set aside in favour of the assessee.

Ratio Decidendi: Reassessment cannot be sustained under section 147(b) where it is founded only on a change of opinion on the same material or on an internal audit party's opinion on a point of law, because such opinion is not information within the meaning of the provision.

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