Holy Faith International Pvt. Ltd Vs DCIT (ITAT Amritsar)
Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT) Amritsar bench today allowed an appeal filed by Holy Faith International Pvt. Ltd., quashing a reassessment order issued by the Deputy Commissioner of Income Tax (DCIT). The Tribunal ruled that the Assessing Officer (AO) had reopened the assessment without independent application of mind, relying solely on information from the Investigation Wing, and failed to provide an opportunity for cross-examination, thus violating principles of natural justice.
Case Background
Holy Faith International Pvt. Ltd. originally filed its income tax return for the Assessment Year 2008-09 on September 30, 2008, declaring an income of Rs. 4,63,33,441/-. Following a search operation under Section 132 of the Income Tax Act, 1961 (the Act) on the assessee’s group on January 22, 2009, a return in response to a notice under Section 153C of the Act was filed on February 6, 2010, declaring the same income. The assessment was completed under Section 153C on December 29, 2010, at an income of Rs. 4,64,33,441/-, which included a minor disallowance of Rs. 1,00,000/-, later reduced to Rs. 30,000/- by the Commissioner of Income Tax (Appeals) [CIT(A)].
Subsequently, on October 3, 2013, the Directorate of Income Tax (Investigation), Mumbai, conducted a search operation on the Rajendra Jain Group, Sanjay Choudhary Group, and Dharmichand Jain Group in Mumbai. Based on certain evidence gathered during this search, the case of Holy Faith International Pvt. Ltd. was reopened under Section 147/148 of the Act, and a notice under Section 148 was issued to the assessee.
