Ravindra Kumar Gupta Vs DCIT (ITAT Delhi)
ITAT Delhi Quashes Reassessment for Non-Supply of Material and Mechanical Reliance on Investigation Report
The Delhi Bench of the ITAT held that the reassessment proceedings for AY 2018-19 were invalid and quashed the entire reassessment order. The Tribunal found that the Assessing Officer reopened the assessment merely on the basis of vague information from an investigation wing relating to alleged accommodation entries, without supplying any concrete or relied-upon material to the assessee at the stage of section 148A(b). The show cause notice lacked specific details such as the nature, amount, or identity of the alleged dummy entities, and there was no independent application of mind by the AO.
Despite the assessee furnishing detailed replies with confirmations, bank statements, and ITRs of lenders, the AO passed the order under section 148A(d) mechanically, solely relying on the investigation report. The Tribunal followed the Supreme Court ruling in Ashish Agarwal and coordinate bench decisions to hold that failure to supply relied-upon material and non-consideration of the assessee’s reply vitiates the reopening. Consequently, the notice under section 148 and the reassessment framed under sections 147/144B were held to be bad in law and were quashed, rendering the addition under section 68 read with section 115BBE unsustainable
FULL TEXT OF THE ORDER OF ITAT DELHI
