TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
2007 (7) TMI 257
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....sing officer the declaration of the value of the property which he has made in the wealth tax return, would not be discovery of the same amount to information afresh and in such circumstances, the assessing officer, whether or not is empowered to reopen the assessment within a period of four years from the end of the assessment year, the income chargeable to tax has escaped assessment?" 2. The brief facts led to the filing of the above appeal are as under. 3. The assessment for the assessment year 1995-96 was completed under Section 143(3) of the Act on 30.1.1998. Thereafter, it was observed that the long term capital gains of Rs.4,46,000/- (as admitted by the assessee and accepted in the assessment order) arising from the sale of assesse....
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....'Baily Building' adopted for the purpose of allowing term capital gains, the income tax returns and the value of the property mentioned in the Wealth Tax returns. 6. Enraged, the assessee preferred an appeal before the Commissioner, who, by order dated 19.2.2004 accepted the case of the assessee and allowed the appeal holding that the value of the property adopted by the assessee for the purpose of wealth tax did not stop him from contending otherwise in the proceeding for calculating tax on capital gains and that the adoption of certain value for wealth tax purposes could not be made on the basis for working of capital gains, though it was prima facie sufficient for reopening reassessment but in arriving at the conclusion tha....
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....notice subsequently in the course of the proceedings under this section, or recompute the loss or the depreciation allowance or any other allowance, as the case may be, for the assessment year concerned (hereafter in this section and in sections 148 to 153 referred to as the relevant assessment year): Provided that where an assessment under sub-section (3) of section 143 or this section has been made for the relevant assessment year, no action shall be taken under this section after the expiry of four years from the end of the relevant assessment year, unless any income chargeable to tax has escaped assessment for such assessment year by reason of the failure on the part of the assessee to make a return under section 139 or in response to ....
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.... Income Tax [(2003) 263 ITR 129] that the assessee is entitled to change his regular method of accounting by another regular method. It would be open to the assessee to produce records and show that it had followed such changed accounting method in the subsequent years. In the said decision, the Calcutta High Court also laid the following general principles regarding tax avoidance and tax evasion, while dealing with the validity of the change in method of valuation, change in accordance with accounting practice and change followed in subsequent years. The general principles are: (i) the distinction between tax evasion and tax avoidance is still prevalent. (ii) generally speaking, tax evasion is the result of such things as illegality, sup....
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.... transactions designed primarily for the purpose of non-payment of tax only. (emphasis supplied) 13. A Full Bench of the Delhi High Court in Commissioner of Income Tax v. Kelvinator of India Ltd. [(2002) 256 ITR 1), interpreting the powers of the Income Tax Officer with respect to reassessment, held that a mere change of opinion cannot form a basis for reopening the completed assessment and further held that when a regular order of assessment is passed under Section 143(3) of the Act, a presumption can be made that such an order has been passed on application of mind. It is well known that a presumption can be raised to the effect that in terms of Section 114(e) of the Indian Evidence Act, judicial and offici....