Reopening on the same bank-account material was invalid after prior reassessment and Vivad Se Vishwas settlement.

A fresh reopening under sections 147 and 148 based on the same bank-account material was not permissible where that material had already formed the basis of an earlier reassessment and the matter had been settled under the Vivad Se Vishwas scheme. The tribunal treated the earlier round as having attained finality on the same accommodation-entry deposits, so the subsequent reassessment was founded on concluded material rather than new reason to believe. The reassessment reopening was therefore held invalid and quashed.

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Issues: Whether the reassessment proceedings initiated under sections 147 and 148 of the Income-tax Act, 1961 were valid when they were based on the same bank-account material that had already been considered in the earlier reassessment and settled under the Vivad Se Vishwas scheme.

Analysis: The assessee had already been subjected to a first round of reassessment in which the income was estimated on the basis of deposits in the bank account, following survey material indicating accommodation entries. The subsequent reopening again proceeded on the premise that the assessee had received accommodation entries credited in the same bank account. The earlier assessment on the same material had already attained finality through settlement under the Vivad Se Vishwas scheme. On these facts, a fresh reopening on the very same material was not permissible, since the matter had already been examined and concluded in the earlier round.

Conclusion: The reassessment reopening was invalid and was quashed.

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