TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
2023 (8) TMI 1085
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....has filed the instant appeals under Section 260A of the Income Tax Act,1961 (for short, "the Act") : i. for the assessment year 2004-05 (ITA no.1 of 2020), ii. for the assessment year 2005-06 (ITA no.28 of 2019), iii. for the assessment year 2006-07 (ITA no.31 of 2019), iv. for the assessment year 2007-08 (ITA no.29 of 2019), v. for the assessment year 2008-09 (ITA no.30 of 2019) and vi. for the assessment year 2009-10 (ITA no.32 of 2019). 2. In all these appeals, orders passed by the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal, Division Bench Chandigarh on different dates for the respective assessment years in respect of the respondent-assessee are under challenge. 3. Only ITA no.1 of 2020 for the assessment year 2004-05 has been admitted ....
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....of 2019 and ITA no.32 of 2019 for the assessment years 2006-07, 2007-08, 2008-09 and 2009-10, respectively questions 2, 3 and 4 raised in ITA no.1 of 2020 arise. In addition, according to the Revenue, the following question also arises in these 4 appeals: "Whether on the facts and in the circumstances and in law, the order of the Appellate Tribunal is contrary to the evidence and material on record of the case and therefore perverse?" 5. We may point out that these appeals had initially been filed before the High Court of Punjab and Haryana, but the said High Court had returned the same in 2016 directing the Revenue to file them before the Court of competent jurisdiction, and thereafter these appeals were filed in this Court and they wer....
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....ls) by a consolidated order. He dismissed the appeals filed by the assessee, and while doing so enhanced the taxable income of the assessee on the ground that the assessee was not entitled to the benefit of exemption of 15% under Section 11(1)(a) and (d) of the Act as they were unable to spend 85% of its income during the year in question. He enhanced the income of the assessee to Rs.9,97,09,788/-. 11. The assessee then preferred appeals before the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal, which passed the order on 20.01.2016 allowing the appeals of the assessee. It accepted the plea of the assessee that the re-opening had been sought to be resorted to on an issue which had already been dealt with and discussed during regular assessment proceedings a....
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.... held that having thus formed an opinion on the treatment of earmarked funds shown as "Funds Pending Utilization", the Assessing Officer could not have resorted to re- opening the case of the assessee on the same issue, since it amounts to change of opinion which cannot be resorted to in re-assessment proceedings. The Tribunal held that proceedings for re-opening of assessment on the ground of income escaping assessment are an exception to the finality of proceedings arrived at under Section 143(3) of the Act during the regular assessment proceedings of the assessment years; the Assessing Officer, having applied his mind to the issue of corpus funds, after the assessee explained the same with evidences in the regular assessment, impugned n....
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....sment years 2004-05 and 2005-06. 13. In Kelivinator of India Limited (1supra), it was held that there can be re-opening of assessment under Section 148 of the Act only if the Assessing Officer has reason to believe that any income chargeable to tax had 'escaped assessment' for any assessment year; that the use of this power is conditional upon the fact that the Assessing Officer has some reason to believe that the income has 'escaped assessment'; that the words 'reason to believe' in Section 147 of the Act cannot be interpreted to have the consequence of conferring arbitrary powers on the Assessing Officer who may even initiate such reassessment proceedings merely on his change of opinion on the basis of same facts and circumstances which ....
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....rs. 15. Thereafter fresh assessment orders for the assessment years 2006-07 and 2008-09 were passed on 27.12.2010. 16. Assessment order for the assessment year 2009-10 was passed on 27.12.2011. 17. On 30.11.2012, CIT (Appeals) allowed the appeals for the assessment year 2009-10 and deleted the additions made by the Assessing Officer. 18. CIT (Appeals) also allowed the appeals on 21.03.2012 pertaining to the assessment years 2006-07 and 2007-08 and 2008- 09, holding that the assessee had in fact spent much more than 85% of its receipts under the head 'Funds Pending Utilization' , and also of the total receipts, that the entire spending was towards the charitable purposes, and there was no income accumulated or set apart in excess of 15% ....