Delhi High Court
The Commissioner Of Income ... vs Jagson International Limited on 21 October, 2008
Author: Badar Durrez Ahmed
* THE HIGH COURT OF DELHI AT NEW DELHI
% Judgment delivered on: 21.10.2008
+ ITA No. 1237/2008
THE COMMISSIONER OF INCOME TAX-II,
CENTRAL REVENUE BUILDING,
NEW DELHI ...... Appellant
-versus-
JAGSON INTERNATIONAL LTD ..... Respondent
Advocates who appeared in this case:
For the Appellant : Mr Arvind Verma
For the Respondent : Mr Prakash Kumar
CORAM :-
HON'BLE MR JUSTICE BADAR DURREZ AHMED
HON'BLE MR JUSTICE RAJIV SHAKDHER
1. Whether the Reporters of local papers may
be allowed to see the judgment ?
2. To be referred to Reporters or not ?
3. Whether the judgment should be reported
in the Digest ?
BADAR DURREZ AHMED, J (ORAL)
+ CM 14852/2008 & CM 14853/2008 (exemption)
*
Allowed subject to just exceptions.
CMs stand disposed of.
ITA 1237/2008
1. This appeal is directed against the order dated 20.3.2008
passed by the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal in ITA No 13/D/2003
pertaining to the assessment year 1998-99. The only issue that is
sought to be raised in the present appeal arises from the Tribunal's
decision that the re-assessment proceedings under Section
147/143(3) of the Income Tax Act, 1961, were invalid.
2. The Tribunal has examined the facts and circumstances of the
case and has arrived at the conclusion that the re-opening of the
assessment which had been done under Section 147(3) was not
justified as no new material had come before the Assessing Officer
which could have enabled him to have reasons to believe that any
income had escaped assessment. The Tribunal also noted that letter
which was relied upon by the department as the new
information/material coming into the possession of the Assessing
Officer was a letter dated 28.8.99. The Tribunal noted that this
could not constitute new information coming after the assessment
had been completed in as much as the assessment order under
Section 143(3) was passed on 25.5.2000 which is after the date of
the said letter. The Tribunal was, therefore, of the view that no new
information/material that had come to the Assessing Officer after
completing the original assessment to form any belief about the
escapement of the assessee's income and that such a purported belief
was entirely based on re-appraisal or re-consideration of the
material/information already available on record at the time of
completion of the original assessments. Taking note of the Supreme
Court decision in the case of India and Easter Newspaper Society
vs. CIT : 119 ITR 996 (SC) the Tribunal accepted the assessee's
plea that the re-opening of the assessments was not warranted under
law. Consequently, the re-assessment completed by the Assessing
Officer under Section 147/143(3) of the said Act was quashed.
3. The Tribunal has correctly appreciated the law. No
interference with the decision of the Tribunal is called for. In any
event, no substantial question of law arises for our consideration.
The appeal is dismissed.
BADAR DURREZ AHMED, J
RAJIV SHAKDHER, J
October 16, 2008
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