AVANI CORPORATION Vs. INCOME TAX OFFICER

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE petitioner assessee challenges the notice under S. 148 of the IT Act, 1961, dt. 27th June, 1993, for reopening of the assessment for the asst. year 1987 88. Reasons that were recorded before assuming jurisdiction for issuing notice under S. 148 were furnished to the assessee and were produced as Annexure K. The reasons recorded by the AO reads as under :

(2.) THE assessee urges that assumption of jurisdiction under S. 148 r/w S. 147 was without authority of law. It was pointed out that there has been no failure to disclose truly and fully all material facts necessary for the assessment of asst. year 1987 88 on the part of the assessee. Any satisfaction to that effect has not even been recorded by the AO in his reasons. Therefore, any action under S. 147 beyond four years from the end of relevant assessment year was clearly barred and the AO had no jurisdiction to initiate the proceedings. It was pointed out that even otherwise, all the material facts referred in the reasons find place in the order of assessment put before the AO receiving active application of mind to these facts. Therefore, ex facie it is not a case where even by a strained reasoning it could be a case where any failure on the part of the assessee to disclose truly and fully all material facts necessary for the assessment can be attributed to the assessee petitioner.

(3.) IN the reply affidavit reference has also been made to the chain of events which led to the payment of extra price, alleging that there was collusion between the petitioner and the sellers in inflating the price.