Reopening Quashed for Mechanical Approval and Verbatim Borrowed Reasons; Penalty Automatically Falls

Rita Das Vs ACIT (ITAT Kolkata) The reassessment for AY 2011-12 was initiated solely on the basis of an information letter from the Investigation Wing alleging high cash deposits and withdrawals in the assessee’s bank account. The Tribunal found that the Assessing Officer reproduced this information verbatim while recording reasons and carried out no independent verification or enquiry. There was thus no live link between the information received and the formation of belief that income had escaped assessment. Relying on the Delhi High Court ruling in Meenakshi Overseas Pvt. Ltd., the Tribuna...