Asifiqbal Ismail Jangda Vs I.T.O (ITAT Surat)
The Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT), Surat bench, has invalidated the reassessment proceedings initiated against an individual taxpayer, Asifiqbal Ismail Jangda, for Assessment Year (AY) 2015-16. The tribunal held that the notice for reopening the assessment, issued more than three years after the relevant assessment year, was beyond the permissible time limit as the alleged escaped income was below the statutory threshold of ₹50 lakh.
The case stemmed from information received by the Assessing Officer (AO) indicating that Mr. Jangda had sold immovable property for ₹75,13,220 during AY 2015-16. Based on this, the AO formed the view that income had escaped assessment and initiated proceedings under the amended provisions of the Income Tax Act, 1961.
A notice under Section 148A(b) of the Act was issued to Mr. Jangda. The AO noted that there was no response from the assessee to this initial notice. Subsequently, an order under Section 148A(d) was passed on March 31, 2022, followed by a notice under Section 148 on the same date, seeking to reopen the assessment for AY 2015-16.
In response to the Section 148 notice, Mr. Jangda filed a return of income on June 15, 2022, declaring a total income of ₹22,050. He also raised objections against the reopening of the assessment.
