Stamp duty valuation versus sale consideration safe harbour retrospective application; revision u/s 263 quashed as change of opinion

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....Revision under section 263 was denied because the assessing officer adopted a legally permissible view in treating a 5.24% difference between stamp duty value and sale consideration as non-taxable; such a view is not "erroneous and prejudicial to the interests of revenue" and therefore cannot be reopened as a change of opinion. The article holds that statutory tolerance bands introduced by later Finance Acts (5% then 10%) should be given retrospective, beneficial construction to mitigate hardship, and hence the impugned exercise of revisional power was quashed and relief granted to the assessee.....