PCIT Vs Inarco Limited (Bombay High Court)
The grievance of the Revenue before us is that the Assessing Officer omitted to consider Section 50C of the Act while passing the order dated 26.12.2007 under Section 143(3) of the Act. Thus, it is submitted that the reopening notice dated 11.3.2010 is valid in law.
In this case it is not the case of the Revenue that the Assessing Officer was not aware of Section 50C of the Act at the time of passing the Assessement Order dated 26.12.2007 under Section 143 of the Act. In this case the trigger to reopen assessment proceedings as recorded in the reasons is non-furnishing of copy of the sale deed by the Respondent. This has been found factually to be incorrect. Therefore, once the sale deed was before Assessing Officer and enquiries were made during the assessment proceedings regarding the quantum of capital gains, it must follow that the Assessing Officer had while passing the order dated 26.12.2007 under Section 143(3) of the Act had taken view on facts and in law as in force at the relevant time. Thus, this is a case of change of opinion.
One must not loose the sight that the re-assessment proceedings are not proceedings to review of the order already been passed but only a power to reassess. As observed by the Supreme Court in CIT v. Kelvinator 320 ITR 561, ‘We must also keep in mind the conceptual difference between power to review and power to reassess’.
