2025 (8) TMI 1650 - HC - Income Tax

Reopening of assessment under s.147 and order under s.148A(d) set aside for lack of independent evidence

HC held that reopening of assessment under s.147 and the order under s.148A(d) was unjustified. The petitioner produced documentary evidence showing ... Reopening of assessment u/s 147 - accommodation entry receipts - inference drawn pursuant to the search, which had taken place in case of accommodation entry provider - HELD THAT:- Petitioner has submitted the documents to show that he has availed a short-term finance between 20th March, 2015 and 24th March, 2015, which cannot be said to be availing the accommodation entry as alleged by the respondent Assessing Officer resulting into any escapement of the income. The petitioner received Rs. 50,00,000/- from the Mehta Finance on 20th March, 2015 and Rs. 75,00,000/- on 23rd March, 2015, which was returned on 23rd March, 2015 itself, whereas Rs. 50,00,000/- was returned on 24th March, 2015 as is evident from the confirmation ledger account of the petitioner from the books of the Mehta Finance filed by the petitioner along with the acknowledgment of the income tax return filed by the said Mehta Finance with a reply to show that the petitioner has entered into a genuine temporary loan transaction through banking channel. The respondent-Assessing Officer, however, failed to consider such documents on record and has jumped to the conclusion that the petitioner is one of the beneficiaries, who has availed / obtained accommodation entries by way of the banking channel against cash to the tune of Rs. 1,25,00,000/- without there being any supporting, independent, tangible material in possession of the Assessing Officer. It is, therefore, evident that the notice issued under Section 148 of the Act for reopening as well as the order passed under Section 148A(d) of the Act are on the basis of the inference drawn pursuant to the search, which had taken place on 30th July, 2018 in case of entry provider/Mehta Sony Group. Assessee appeal allowed. ISSUES PRESENTED AND CONSIDERED 1. Whether the order under Section 148A(d) and consequential notice under Section 148, issued beyond three years, is valid where reopening is premised on an alleged 'accommodation entry' but the assessee produced contemporaneous ledger confirmations and return acknowledgments showing short-term loan transactions. 2. Whether a short-term loan transaction obtained and repaid through banking channels can be treated as an 'asset' within the meaning of Explanation 1 to Section 149(1)(b) so as to justify reopening beyond the three-year period. 3. Whether material derived from a search in respect of third-party group entities, without independent, tangible corroborative material linking the assessee as a beneficiary, suffices to constitute 'information' that income chargeable to tax has escaped assessment and thus justify issuance of notice under Section 148. ISSUE-WISE DETAILED ANALYSIS Issue 1 - Validity of Section 148A(d) order and Section 148 notice where assessee produced ledger confirmations and return acknowledgments showing short-term loan transactions Legal framework: Reopening of assessments under Section 148 requires that income chargeable to tax has escaped assessment; Section 148A(b)/(d) prescribes preliminary enquiry and satisfaction before issuance of notice. Reopening beyond three years requires specified conditions (including Explanation 1 to Section 149(1)(b) where relevant). Precedent Treatment: The judgment record contains no citation of authoritative precedents; the Court adjudicated on the facts and statutory scheme. Interpretation and reasoning: The Court examined the assessee's documentary evidence - ledger account from the lender, dates and amounts received (Rs.50,00,000 on 20.03.2015 and Rs.75,00,000 on 23.03.2015) and corresponding repayments on 23 and 24 March 2015 - and the lender's income-tax return acknowledgement. The Court found these documents demonstrate genuine short-term borrowings through banking channels and nil closing balance, negating any benefit derived from the alleged accommodation entry. The Assessing Officer did not examine or give due weight to those documents and instead drew an inference that the assessee was a beneficiary solely on the basis of information gathered from the search in the third-party group. The Court held that where the assessee places contemporaneous documentary material explaining the transactions, the Assessing Officer cannot proceed to reopen merely by drawing an inference from third-party search material without independent corroboration. Ratio vs. Obiter: Ratio - A Section 148A(d) satisfaction and consequent notice under Section 148 cannot stand where contemporaneous documentary evidence demonstrates the transaction was a bona fide, short-term loan and there is no independent tangible material to show escapement of income; failure by the Assessing Officer to consider such documents renders the reopening invalid. Obiter - Observations on the insufficiency of inferences drawn solely from third-party search material to prove beneficiary status. Conclusion: The Court quashed the order under Section 148A(d) and the notice under Section 148 for lack of jurisdiction and absence of supporting independent material showing escapement of income when the assessee had furnished documentary proof of genuine short-term loan transactions. Issue 2 - Whether the loan transaction amounts to an 'asset' under Explanation 1 to Section 149(1)(b) so as to permit reopening beyond three years Legal framework: Explanation 1 to Section 149(1)(b) identifies circumstances where reopening beyond three years may be sustained, including where an asset acquired is not disclosed; the legal import of 'asset' in reopening questions is thus relevant to timeliness of reopening. Precedent Treatment: No authorities were cited in the text to define or apply the term 'asset' for the purposes of Explanation 1; the parties raised but the Court addressed the argument on facts. Interpretation and reasoning: The petitioner argued that the short-term loan does not constitute an 'asset' within the meaning of Explanation 1 and therefore the reopening, admittedly beyond three years, lacked jurisdiction. The Court, relying on the ledger entries, repayments and corroboration in lender's tax filing, treated the transactions as temporary financings rather than acquisitions of an asset that would permit extended reopening. The absence of any benefit retained by the assessee and the nil balances supported the conclusion that there was no undisclosed asset attracting Explanation 1. Ratio vs. Obiter: Ratio - Where a transaction reflects a temporary borrowing repaid within days and leaves no enduring benefit or asset with the assessee, it cannot be treated as an 'asset' under Explanation 1 to justify reopening beyond three years. Obiter - Comment that the characterisation of a transaction for Explanation 1 must rest on documentary reality, not conjecture. Conclusion: The Court held the loan transactions did not constitute an 'asset' under Explanation 1 and therefore could not sustain reopening of assessment beyond the three-year period absent other tangible material. Issue 3 - Sufficiency of search-derived information and requirement of independent tangible material to justify reopening Legal framework: Information justifying reopening must be specific and reliable; satisfaction under Section 148A(d) should be based on material showing escapement, not on bare inferences from third-party searches. Precedent Treatment: The judgment contains no cited precedents addressing the quantum or quality of material required; the Court applied statutory principles to the facts. Interpretation and reasoning: The Assessing Officer's satisfaction relied on information from a search of the Mehta Soni group and statements indicating a modus operandi involving accommodation entries; the Court observed that such information, without independent, tangible material connecting the assessee to a retained benefit, does not suffice. The Court emphasized that the Assessing Officer 'jumped to the conclusion' without considering the assessee's documentary explanation and the lender's tax return acknowledgement. Consequently, the reopening was founded on inference rather than independent corroboration, rendering the satisfaction unreasonable. Ratio vs. Obiter: Ratio - Search-derived material implicating a group cannot, by itself and without independent tangible evidence linking an assessee to a benefit, justify reopening; the Assessing Officer must consider and weigh the assessee's contemporaneous documentary evidence before forming satisfaction. Obiter - Remarks cautioning against treating group search outcomes as automatic grounds to reopen unrelated assessments. Conclusion: The Court concluded that the information from the search, without supporting independent material relating specifically to the assessee and notwithstanding the assessee's documentary explanation, was insufficient to sustain the Section 148A(d) satisfaction and the Section 148 notice; thus both were quashed. Final Disposition (consequential to the above conclusions) The order passed under Section 148A(d) and the notice under Section 148 were quashed and set aside. Relief was granted to the extent of invalidating the reopening; no order as to costs.