Marico Limited Vs DCIT (Bombay High Court)
Reassessment of assessment – review v/s reopening – change of opinion – Reopening on same material – permission to re-look or re-examine the documents that were filed and considered by him in the original assessment proceedings –
The Bombay High Court quashed reassessment proceedings for AY 2018–19, holding that reopening based solely on an audit objection amounts to a “change of opinion” and is impermissible under Section 147 of the Income Tax Act. The assessee’s claim of deduction under Section 80G, including donations linked to CSR expenditure, had been thoroughly examined during the original scrutiny assessment under Section 143(3). Detailed queries were raised, documents were furnished, and the claim was substantially allowed after due verification. Subsequently, reassessment was initiated based on an internal audit memo suggesting disallowance of such deductions. The Court held that there was no new tangible material and the Assessing Officer merely re-examined the same facts already considered earlier. Relying on settled judicial precedents, it ruled that reassessment cannot be used as a tool for review. Accordingly, notices issued under Sections 148A(b), 148A(d), and 148 were quashed.
Core Issue: The core issue was whether reassessment proceedings initiated under Section 148 based on an audit objection and re-examination of the same material already scrutinized during original assessment constitute a valid reopening or amount to a mere change of opinion, which is not permissible under law.
