Audit note cannot justify reassessment reopening when it only states the audit party's own view on the tax issue.

Audit objections alone do not constitute valid "information" for reopening a completed assessment under section 147(b) where they merely express the audit party's own view on depreciation and deductibility of superannuation fund contributions. The text states that the revenue's reliance on the audit note was unsustainable because the governing Supreme Court authority on the meaning of "information" had displaced the contrary approach, and the audit observations did not reflect an independently established legal position. On that basis, the reopening was held invalid and the reassessment illegal, leaving the merits of the disallowance unexamined.

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Issues: Whether reassessment under section 147(b) of the Income-tax Act, 1961 could be sustained on the basis of information contained in an audit note.

Analysis: The reassessment was initiated on the basis of audit objections relating to depreciation and the deductibility of a superannuation fund contribution. The decision relied upon by the revenue had been substantially overruled by the Supreme Court authority governing the meaning of "information" for reopening, and the audit parties' views were not treated as established law. Since the audit notes merely reflected the audit departments' own views and did not supply legally sustainable information, the reopening could not be justified.

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

Final Conclusion: The appeal was allowed and the reassessment was set aside, leaving the merits of the disallowance unexamined.

Ratio Decidendi: An audit note expressing the audit party's own view does not constitute valid "information" for reopening a completed assessment under section 147(b) unless it reflects an established legal position independently of the audit opinion.

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