TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
2017 (4) TMI 768
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..... Heard Mr. K.Vasantkumar, learned counsel for the petitioners and Mr. B.Narasimha Sarma, learned Standing Counsel appearing for the respondents. 3. The petitioners in these writ petitions were issued with notices under Section 148 of the Act on various dates. In the notices which were in the printed form, it was stated that the Assessing Officers had reason to believe that there was income chargeable to tax relating to the relevant assessment years which had escaped assessment within the meaning of Section 147 of the Act and that therefore the petitioners should file a return in the prescribed form. 4. In response to the said notices, the petitioners sent individual replies indicating that they had already filed their returns of inco....
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.... of the case truth at initial stage. Reliance is placed on the decision of Hon'ble High Court in the case of Ramprasad vs. AO (1995) 82 Taxman 199 (Allahabad). The Hon'ble Supreme Court in the case of ACIT Vs Rajesh Jhaveri Stock Brokers Pvt. Ltd. (2007) 291 ITR 500 has clearly held that intimation u/s 143(1) is not 'assessment', so there is no question of treating the re-assessment in such cases as based on change of opinion. Here in the instant case of assessee, the case is covered by the main provision and not by 1st proviso to section 147. The assessee has ignored the substantial changes made to 143(1) w.e.f. 01.06.1999. Further Hon'ble Supreme Court has held in the cited case that w.e.f. 1.6.1999, the acknowledgement of return is deeme....
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....otal income admitted by each of these petitioners, constituted a very small percentage of their gross receipts for the relevant assessment year and that therefore there was income that escaped assessment. The Assessing Officers had drawn presumably a comparison to others in the same line of business, as indicated in the reason for reopening. 9. But the reasons for reopening owefully fall short of the reasons that could form the basis for reopening of assessments. There is no indication in the reasons as to who are the assessees with whom any comparison was made. If the Assessing Officers had compared the gross receipts of yet another assessee in the same line of business and pointed out as to how the income returned by such assessee was ....
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....e Assessing Officer, should arise out of concrete facts which could at least form the foundation for reopening. Without any concrete facts, reopening cannot be ordered merely on the presumption that the returned income is very shockingly lower than the total gross receipts. Therefore, we are of the considered view that the Assessing Officers completely erred in reopening assessments on the basis of either a suspicion that there is suppression of income or on the basis that persons in the same line of business are returning a higher income. Without even mentioning the comparables, no initiation of proceedings under Section 147 can be made. 12. In the order rejecting the objections, the Assessing Officer has relied upon Clause (b) under Ex....