TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
2024 (7) TMI 439
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.... are as under: [2.1] The petitioner is a partnership firm established on 1st April 1994. The petitioner filed the return of income for the Assessment Year 2017-18 through electronic media on 29th October 2017 declaring total income of Rs. 96,91,680/-. [2.2] Thereafter, the case of the petitioner was selected for scrutiny assessment under Section 143 (3) of the Income Tax Act, 1961 (for short, "the Act") and notice was accordingly issued by the Assessing Officer - ACIT, Circle 5(2)(1), Ahmedabad. During the course of assessment proceedings, various details and explanation were called for, all of which had been duly submitted on record of the then Assessing Officer so as to say that there was due compliance and full and true disclosure on the part of the petitioner. [2.3] The then Assessing Officer had issued notice under Section 142 (1) of the Act dated 23rd August 2019 whereby he had asked to submit details regarding source and nature of cash deposited for the Financial Years 2015-16 and 2016-17 and in response to the same, the petitioner had submitted the details of source and nature of cash deposited for the Financial Years 2015-16 and 2016-17 vide reply dated 3rd December 201....
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....e Ms. Nupur D. Shah for the petitioner submitted that the respondent - Assessing Officer has reopened the assessment by the impugned notice dated 30th March 2021 beyond the period of four years though the assessee has made full and true disclosure while filing the original return of income by providing all the information and material at the time of scrutiny assessment and the Assessing Officer, after examining the details made available by the assessee, has passed the order under Section 143 (3) of the Act. It was, therefore, submitted that the impugned notice was issued only on the basis of the information received from the Insight Portal and the Investigation Wing, Ahmedabad without referring to the original assessment proceedings and therefore, there was no independent formation of belief by the respondent - Assessing Officer, but the impugned notice was issued under the borrowed satisfaction. [6] It was submitted that the impugned notice is without jurisdiction and the assessee has disclosed all the material facts fully and truly during the assessment proceedings, and therefore, the notice on the very same subject matter could not have been issued. [7] Learned advocate Ms. S....
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....r disclosing information received from the Investigation Wing, to point out that that the petitioner, in response to the summons issued under Section 131 (1A) of the Act, has filed reply without any ledger account and counter confirmation of the parties referred to in the summons as the parties related to Bhawarlal Jain and Pravin Jain search case and most of them were bogus parties and the petitioner has made purchases from the above parties which are bogus entities. It was, therefore, submitted that the subsequent fresh information received by the respondent with regard to cash deposited of Rs. 7.39 Crore during the demonetization period in the bank account with the Axis Bank has been recorded and as per the reasons recorded, it cannot be said to be a change of opinion and the respondent has reasoned to believe that there is an escapement of income on the basis of knowledge obtained from the Investigation Wing. It was, therefore, submitted that the respondent, after receiving the information from the credible source, has verified and analyzed the same and then recorded the reasons to believe that income of the assessee has escaped assessment. [12] Learned advocate Mr. Patel has ....
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....nformation received from credible sources, it is seen that, the assessee firm has shown highest cash sale in the month of October, 2016 (i.e. Just before the demonetization period) as compare to other months, which required deep investigation. On perusal of information so received from Investigation Wing. Ahmedabad, it is noticed that the assessee firm M/s. Arunbhai Maneklal Jhaveri & Sons (AAFFA3228F) is found to be the owner of the money appearing in me bank account(s) vide No. 910020008982526, 915030065781940 and 915030063701995 maintained with AXIS Bank Ltd. to the tune of Rs. 7,39,00,000/- and the financial transaction as discussed above is clearly attract the provision of section 69A of the Income-tax Act and therefore required to be added back to the total income of the assessee. Failure on the part of the assessee to disclose fully and truly all the material facts necessary for the assessment, the income of the assessee has escaped assessment to the tune of Rs. 7,39,00,000/- for the AY 2017-18 within the meaning of Section 147 of the income-tax Act, 1961. I have, therefore, reason to believe that this is a fit case for reopening the assessment u/s. 147 of the Act and for....
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....Officer could not have assumed jurisdiction to issue notice for reopening upon what is recorded by him for reopening the assessment. [18] Considering the above facts of the case, we are of the opinion that the impugned notice for reopening of the Assessment Year 2017-18 is nothing but a change of opinion, in view of the decision of the Hon'ble Supreme Court in the case of Kelvinator of India Ltd (supra), wherein it is held as under: "On going through the changes, quoted above, made to Section 147 of the Act, we find that, prior to Direct Tax Laws (Amendment) Act, 1987, re-opening could be done under above two conditions and fulfillment of the said conditions alone conferred jurisdiction on the Assessing Officer to make a back assessment, but in section 147 of the Act [with effect from 1st April, 1989], they are given a go-by and only one condition has remained, viz., that where the Assessing Officer has reason to believe that income has escaped assessment, confers jurisdiction to reopen the assessment. Therefore, post-1st April, 1989, power to re-open is much wider. However, one needs to give a schematic interpretation to the words "reason to believe" failing which, we are afrai....