TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
2015 (1) TMI 1413
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.... the assessee, an individual, filed his return of income on 27/07/2009 declaring 'nil' income and also claiming refund of Rs. 8 lakhs as the excess of advancetax paid. The return of income was processed u/s 143(1) on 16/03/2011 without any refund due to the assessee. Subsequently, while verifying the assessee's claim in the return of income, the Assessing Officer (AO) noticed that under Schedule E-1 (details of exempt income), the assessee had claimed a sum of Rs. 41,50,000/- as exempt from taxation and had also given a foot-note in the statement of total income enclosed to the return of income that it is a sum received towards damages as per the order of the Company Law Board and hence it is capital in nature and not taxable. The AO observ....
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....O (259 ITR 19), held that the order of reopening of assessment has to be annulled. He, accordingly, allowed the assessee's appeal and did not decide on the merits of the addition made by the AO. Aggrieved by the relief given by the CIT(A), the revenue is in appeal before us. 4. The learned Departmental Representative supported the order of the AO and submitted that the assessee was well aware of the reasons for reopening of assessment as is evident from the reply given by the assessee vide letter dated 12/07/2012. He placed reliance upon the decision of the Delhi Bench of the Tribunal in the case of ITO vs. Smt. Gurinder Kaur reported in 102 ITD 189(Del) wherein it was held that noncommunication of reasons would not be fatal to validity ....
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....cited supra) has clearly held that where the AO issues notice u/s 148 and the assessee seeks the supply of reasons for reopening of assessment after filing a return of income in response to notice u/s 148, then, the AO must supply the same and if the assessee files any objections thereto, the AO has to first dispose of the objections before proceeding with the re-assessment of income. The co-ordinate Bench of this Tribunal in the case of Shri Abdul Khalique (cited supra) had considered the various decisions relied upon by the assessee as well as the learned Departmental Representative and in para.26 of its order has extensively dealt with the issue and has followed the decision of the Hon'ble Bombay High Court in the case of VSNL (cited sup....
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....ur (supra) and submitted that if the assessee is aware of the reopening, then reasons recorded need not be furnished to the assessee. We are of the view that the aforesaid decision was rendered by the Tribunal prior to the decision of the Bombay High Court in the case of VSNL (Supra). The case of VSNL (supra) was followed in the case of Alana Cold Storage v. ITO (287 ITR 1) (Bom), taking the view that failure to furnish the reasons recorded for reopening the assessment before completion of the assessment would render the order of reassessment bad in law. In the aforesaid decisions of the Hon'ble Bombay High Court, we are of the view that the decision rendered by the Delhi Bench of the ITAT cannot be followed. Moreover the issue as to wh....