TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
2018 (4) TMI 1521
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.... the case and in law, the Commissioner of Income tax (Appeals) ["CIT(A)"] erred in confirming the action of the assessing officer ('AO") in initiating reassessment proceedings under Section 147 of the Income Tax Act, 1961 ('the Act') on mere change of opinion and without there being any valid reason to believe that the income has escaped assessment. 1 .1 That on facts and circumstances of the case and in law, the CIT(A) erred in not appreciating that the re-assessment proceedings had been initiated on a change of opinion as the original assessment had been completed under Section 143(3) of the Act after detailed scrutiny and no tangible material had come to the knowledge of the AO thereafter justifying initiation of proceedin....
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....nds of appeal of the assessee for the reason that in the scrutiny assessment completed, applicability of section 195 of the Act on payments made in foreign currency on certain imports and other expenditures and consequential disallowance u/s.40(a)(i) were not considered. The CIT(A) observed that in his opinion, the assessment was not reopened on mere change of opinion. According to him, only if on certain issues, the Assessing Officer has already taken a conscious decision and the same is evident from the assessment order, then initiation of proceedings u/s.147 on the same issue disagreeing with the conclusion of the Assessing Officer would tantamount to change of opinion and not otherwise. 5. Being aggrieved by this order, the assessee is....
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....f Rs. 20,057 lakhs towards import expenditure, Rs. 93.26 lakhs towards legal consultancy and commission on which no tax was deducted u/s.195(1) would not be eligible for deduction under the head "profit and gains of business or profession u/s.40(a)(ia) of the I.T.Act, 1961. Besides the above on verification of assessment record, it has been revealed that the closing stock of chrome ore was 251,977 MT in compliance to the query raised by the AO, that the assessee has submitted the particulars in which the closing balance of chrome ore at 1,83,304 MT. Apparently there was a suppression of closing stock by 68,673 MT" 9. A perusal of the recorded reasons shows that nowhere it records any fresh tangible information, which came to the notice....
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....ents on the basis of "mere change of opinion", which cannot be per se reason to re-open. We must also keep in mind the conceptual difference between power to review and power to reassess. The Assessing Officer has no power to review; he has the power to re-assess. But reassessment has to be based on fulfillment of certain precondition and if the concept of "change of opinion" is removed, as contended on behalf of the Department, then, in the garb of re-opening the assessment, review would take place. One must treat the concept of "change of opinion" as an in-built test to check abuse of power by the Assessing Officer. Hence, after 1st April, 1989, Assessing Officer has power to re-open, provided there is "tangible material" to come to the c....