Reopening assessment under Section 147: concise information, not full records, suffices; notice sustained and petition dismissed

Reopening of assessment was contested on sufficiency of information supplied with the notice under the pre-2021 provision. The court held that "information" requires a concise narration of conclusions drawn from available material, not copies of all material on record; material on record and information are distinct. Consequently, supplying every document is unnecessary and may unfairly prolong proceedings. The assessing officer retains the burden to prove escapement of income with cogent evidence. On these bases the impugned notice was found valid and the petition challenging reopening was dismissed.

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Issues: Whether the notice dated 20.03.2024 issued under Section 148A(b) (precursor to proceedings under Section 148) and the consequent initiation of reassessment proceedings are vitiated for want of adequate information or jurisdictional error.

Analysis: The notice identifies two transaction amounts alleged to be bogus/fictitious and supplies a concise narration of the conclusions drawn from material on record; such narration constitutes the "information" required by Section 148A(1). Section 148A(3) (and the distinction drawn with material available on record) permits provision of information without necessarily furnishing copies of all underlying documents at the notice stage. Requiring production of the entire record with the notice would prolong proceedings and afford the assessee an opportunity to manufacture defences; nonetheless the Assessing Officer retains the burden to establish, by cogent evidence, that income has escaped assessment. The facts show the notice contained sufficient information to commence the prescribed process and do not disclose a jurisdictional defect.

Conclusion: The notice under Section 148A(b) and the initiation of proceedings under Section 148 are valid; the writ petition challenging the notice is dismissed.

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