Arpit Goel Vs ITO (ITAT Delhi)
Appeals filed by the Assessee against different orders of CIT(A)in sustaining the addition made u/s 69A. Assessee submitted that the AO reopened the assessment by issue of notice u/s 148 without the approval from the appropriate authority u/s 151 & therefore submits that the consequential reassessments made by issue of notice u/s 148 in the absence of any approval of such reassessments are bad in law & void ab initio.
Tribunal noted that the reasons recorded for initiation of proceedings u/s 147/148 issued by the AO for the AYs 2009-10 to 2011-12 were all undated. Further the AO did not mention in the reasons whether he has taken any prior approval for initiating the reassessment proceedings & for issue of notice u/s 148 for these assessment years. assessee also filed under RTI seeking to supply a copy of approval granted by the competent authority for reopening of these assessments.
From perusal of the Order u/s 7(1) of RTI Act Tribunal noticed that the Revenue could not provide any copy of approval as they were not in a possession of the case records. Tribunal observed that since the AO never stated in the reasons recorded whether any approval has been taken by him from the competent authority before issue of notice u/s 148 for reopening of assessments for the AYs 2009-10 to 2011-12 creating a doubt whether at all the AO has obtained any prior mandatory prior u/s 151 more so when the reasons for reopening of assessments were all undated. Revenue also could not provide any copy of approval if any granted for reopening of the assessments. In the absence of any approval u/s 151 from the competent authority for reopening of assessments the assessments made without such approval becomes bad in law & void ab initio . Thus, Tribunal quashed the reassessment orders for assessment years 2009-10 to 2011-12 as the reassessments were made without the prior approval of the competent authority u/s 151.
