Mahendra Gumanmalji Lodha HUF Versus ACIT (Gujarat High Court)
Summary: The Gujarat High Court allowed the writ petition filed by Mahendra Gumanmalji Lodha HUF and quashed and set aside the impugned reassessment notice. The Court held that the reopening of the assessment amounted to a change of opinion because the relevant issue concerning the unsecured loan had already been examined during the original assessment proceedings under Section 143(3) of the Income Tax Act, 1961, and no new tangible material had been unearthed by the Assessing Officer.
The proceedings concerned Assessment Year 2012-13. On 22.06.2026, the Court had directed the Revenue to examine the assessment order dated 29.03.2024 passed for Assessment Year 2014-15 and to consider the findings/conclusions contained in the report of the Deputy Director of Income Tax (DDIT) dated 14.03.2019. The Court had noted that the assessment for Assessment Year 2014-15 had been completed without modification of the income determined in the original assessment under Section 143(3), which was Rs.49,51,150/-. The Court also directed the Revenue to examine whether the case for Assessment Year 2012-13 was covered by the same findings and, if so, to place an appropriate affidavit on record.
Pursuant to that direction, the Revenue filed an affidavit-in-reply dated 17.07.2026. The Court took the affidavit on record. In paragraphs 3, 4 and 5 of the affidavit, the Revenue stated that the assessment proceedings for Assessment Year 2014-15 assumed significance because the reassessment proceedings for Assessment Year 2012-13 had remained pending due to interim orders of the Court, whereas the subsequent assessment year had been completed after examination of substantially similar information.
