ITO Vs Ratan Kumar Ingu (ITAT Hyderabad)
Sec. 47 of Registration Act Saves Assessee; Document is considered as executed on the date when it is signed & presented for registration- Tribunal Holds Reopening Invalid
Scanning Date Not Relevant: ITAT Hyderabad Quashes Reopening for AY 2017-18
The dispute arose from certain agreements of sale-cum-GPA executed on 21.03.2016 involving agricultural lands situated at Manchirevula Village. The documents were duly registered before the Joint Sub-Registrar on 24.03.2016 . AO issued notice u/s 148 on 30.03.2021 & completed assessment u/s 147 r.w.s. 144 on 29.03.2022 determining total income of ₹12.26 crore by applying Sec.50C & treating the same as unexplained investment.
CIT(A) granted relief holding that there was no valid transfer as the vendors did not have possession, however rejected Assessee’s plea challenging the very validity of reopening.
Before Tribunal, Assessee raised an additional ground u/s Rule 27 of ITAT Rules contending that reopening itself was invalid because the transactions fell in FY 2015-16 relevant to AY 2016-17. It was argued that once documents were executed & registered on 24.03.2016, the transaction was complete in FY 2015-16. CIT(A) wrongly relied on the date of scanning of these documents on 18.04.2016 to treat them as belonging to FY 2016-17. Assessee relied on Sec.47 of Registration Act, 1908 which provides that a registered document operates from the date of execution & not from the date of registration or subsequent uploading. Reliance was placed on Madhu Gangwani v. ACIT (Delhi Trib).
