The HC held that under the amended provisions, reopening of...

The HC held that under the amended provisions, reopening of assessment requires the AO to possess information that merely "suggests" escapement of income, a lower threshold than the earlier "reason to believe." The AO must consider the assessee's response before determining the fitment for issuing a notice under Section 148, and prior approval of the specified authority is mandatory for orders under Section 148A(3). The Court emphasized that audit objections qualify as "information" only if they unambiguously opine non-compliance with statutory provisions. In the instant case, absence of clear audit objections and failure to provide them to the assessee rendered the Section 148A(1) notice invalid. Reopening was permissible solely concerning professional and processing charges where audit objections met the statutory threshold. Consequently, the impugned order and notice were quashed, and the matter remitted for issuance of a fresh notice limited to those heads within a stipulated timeframe.