Article
Change of opinion: Whether permissible under the new provisions of reassessment?
By Neha Sharma
The Finance Act, 2021 substituted the provisions of reassessment under the Income-tax Act, 1961. Under the new reassessment provisions, the concept of ‘reason to believe’ has been substituted with ‘information’ which suggests that the income has escaped assessment. The ‘information’ referred to has been exhaustively defined in Explanation 1 to Section 148 of the Income-tax Act. In view of the above referred substitution, the article in this issue of Direct Tax Amicus discusses the question as to whether such ‘information’ is required to be tested against the concept of ‘change of opinion’, as was required under the old reassessment provisions. Deliberating on the relevant old and new reassessment provisions, and the meaning of escaped income, the author is of the view that the reopening of an assessment on the basis of change of opinion is still not permissible under the new reassessment provisions. According to her, it was never the intention of the Legislature to permit the Assessing Officer to reopen an assessment on the basis of change of opinion. Stating that it is however yet to be seen as to how the Courts interpret the new provisions, the author notes that the Hon’ble Bombay High Court has recently asked the Revenue to submit a response on whether ‘change of opinion’ is now permissible for initiating reassessment proceedings.
Notifications & Circulars
- Cost Inflation Index notified for Financial Year 2023-24
- Transfer pricing – Arm’s Length Price – Tolerance range notified for Financial Year 2023-24
- TDS/ TCS Statements – Relaxation in time limits
- Liberalised Remittance Scheme and Tax Collection at Source – Amendments deferred
Ratio decidendi
- CIT(Exemption) has no power to condone delay in filing application for exemption under Section 10(23C)(vi) – ITAT Raipur
- Appeal – Delay of over 1600 days in filing appeal when condonable – ITAT emphasizes substantial justice over technicalities – ITAT Kolkata
- Transfer pricing – Rate applied in MAP for transactions with AE to be applicable during the period not covered under MAP, and on the non-AE transaction – ITAT Bangalore
- Capital gains exemption under India-Singapore DTAA allowed to Singapore based FII, rejecting the invocation of Limitation of Benefit clause – Bombay High Court
- Additional depreciation which could not be claimed in full in eligible year, can be availed in the subsequent year – ITAT Mumbai
