Loading judgment…
Facts
The assessee's assessment for AY 2014-15 was reopened under Section 147/148 alleging receipt of ₹55,00,000/- from Shri Swapan Das. The assessee denied receiving the amount and provided bank statements as evidence, but the Ld. AO added the amount to income, and the Ld. CIT(A) upheld this. The assessee appealed against the reopening, claiming it lacked tangible material and a live link to escapement of income.
Held
The Tribunal found, based on the evidence including bank statements, that the assessee had not received the alleged amount. It held that the reopening of assessment was without any substantive basis and live link. Consequently, the Tribunal quashed the proceedings under Section 147 and the assessment order passed under Section 143(3)/147.
Key Issues
Whether the reopening of assessment under Section 147/148 was valid when there was no tangible material or live link to escapement of income, and whether the alleged income was actually received by the assessee.
Sections Cited
147, 148, 143(3)
AI-generated summary — verify with the full judgment below
Income Tax Appellate Tribunal, “D” BENCH, KOLKATA
This is an appeal preferred by the assessee against the order of the National Faceless Appeal Centre, Delhi (hereinafter referred to as the “Ld. CIT(A)”] dated 19.11.2024 for the AY 2014-15.
At the time of hearing, the assessee pressed the ground no.4, which is against the order of ld. CIT (A) upholding the reopening of assessment u/s 148 of the Act without any tangible material without any link to escapement of income and hence, the reopening is bad in law and the assessment may be quashed.
The ld. AR at the outset, submitted that the reopening of assessment has been made u/s 147 of the Act by issuing notice u/s 148 of the Act
In the appellate proceedings, the ld. CIT (A) dismissed the appeal of the assessee.
After hearing the rival contentions and perusing the materials available on record, we find that the assessee has not received any such amount from Swapan Das as is apparent from the evidences furnished before us including the bank statement. Therefore, the reopening is made without any substantive basis and live link. We note that despite the assessee repeatedly requesting before the ld. AO that he has not received any such amount and the AO was also not having any evidence of such amount have been received by the assessee. We note that the ld. CIT (A) has also failed to appreciate the facts correctly. Under these circumstances, we are of the view that the reopening of assessment has
In the result, the appeal of the assessee is allowed.
Order pronounced in the open court on 18.07.2025.