Disha Education Society Vs CIT (Chhattisgarh High Court)
Summary: The Chhattisgarh High Court dismissed the writ petition filed by Disha Education Society challenging the notice dated 11.03.2015 issued under Section 148 of the Income-Tax Act, 1961. The petitioner is a registered society engaged in educational activities through its colleges. It had filed its return for AY 2008-09 on 25.11.2008 declaring nil total income, and an assessment under Section 143(3) was completed on 20.12.2010 accepting nil income. The reassessment notice was subsequently issued on 11.03.2015 on the ground that income had escaped assessment.
The petitioner sought the reasons recorded for reopening and approval of the appropriate authority. The reasons under Section 147 were supplied on 25.06.2015. The petitioner objected to the reopening, including on the grounds that the notice was beyond four years and that the reassessment was based on a mere change of opinion. The objections were disposed of on 02.03.2016.
During pendency of the writ petition, however, a reassessment order was passed on 23.03.2016. The petitioner thereafter preferred a statutory appeal on 12.04.2016, and it was admitted before the Commissioner of Income-Tax. The reassessment order was also placed with the return filed on 07.09.2016. The petitioner did not challenge that reassessment order in the present writ petition.
