The ITAT held that reopening of assessment predicated solely on...

The ITAT held that reopening of assessment predicated solely on a statement later retracted imposes an enhanced duty on the Assessing Officer to expressly record in the reasons for reopening both the fact of retraction and the existence of independent corroborative material permitting an inference of escapement of income. Where the reasons show reliance exclusively on the retracted statement and no independent evidence, the reasons are vitiated and reassessment is invalid. Applying this principle across several matters, the Tribunal set aside reopenings founded only on a retracted statement of a third party and allowed the appeals, holding the statutory notice to be unsustainable for lack of proper rationale and corroboration.

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