ACIT Vs Make My Trip (India) P. Ltd. (ITAT Delhi)
Reopening Beyond Four Years Without Alleging Assessee’s Failure Is Void; Verbatim Reasons, No New Material: ITAT Invalidates 147 Notices
Delhi Tribunal quashed the reassessments for AY 2007-08 & AY 2008-09 in the case of Make My Trip (India) Pvt. Ltd., holding that the reopening was beyond four years & failed to satisfy the mandatory jurisdictional requirement under the first proviso to section 147. Assessee had fully disclosed all material facts in the original assessment, including the reimbursement of Rs.3.60 crore reported in Form 3CEB, which was examined & accepted by the TPO & AO in the order passed u/s 144C r.w.s. 143(3). The reasons recorded for reopening merely stated “on perusal of case records” without alleging any failure by Assessee to disclose fully & truly all material facts, nor was any new tangible material available. Relying on binding precedents such as Haryana Acrylic Manufacturing Co. & Wel Intertrade (P) Ltd., the Tribunal held that the absence of such an allegation rendered the reassessment wholly without jurisdiction. Consequently, the Cross Objections of Assessee were allowed & the reassessment proceedings were quashed, leading to automatic dismissal of Revenue’s appeals on merits. For AY 2008-09, the reasons for reopening were verbatim identical, & Tribunal applied its findings mutatis mutandis, again quashing the reassessment. The final result was that both COs were allowed & both Revenue appeals were dismissed.
