Tahera Abida Ghori Vs DCIT (ITAT Hyderabad)
Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT), Hyderabad Bench, has invalidated reassessment proceedings initiated against NRI individual Tahera Abida Ghori for the Assessment Year 2008-09. The Tribunal found fatal flaws in the initiation of the reassessment under Section 147 of the Income Tax Act, 1961, ruling that it was based on an incorrect premise and that the mandatory procedural requirement of providing rea-sons in a timely manner was violated.
The case originated when the Assessing Officer (AO) reopened the assessment for AY 2008-09, citing reasons that included information from the Investigation Wing about alleged “on money” received by the assessee from the sale of agricultural land. A significant basis for the reopening, as recorded by the AO, was the belief that the assessee had not filed her return of income for the relevant year.
Following the issuance of a notice under Section 148 of the Act, the assessee filed a return of income under protest and subsequently participated in the assessment proceedings. During the assessment, the AO confronted the assessee with information suggesting she had received substantial amounts beyond the registered sale value of agricultural land, based on statements from a third party (Shri Konda Laxmaiah, the buyer) and an affidavit from an alleged GPA holder (Shri Fakruddin Alias Arif). The AO proposed to treat a large sum as the assessee’s income.
