Section 155(15) of the Income Tax Act
Income-tax Act, 2025: s.288
Section 155(15) falls under section 155 of the Income-tax Act, 1961, which corresponds to section 288 (Other amendments) of the Income-tax Act, 2025.
Read section 288 of the 2025 Act
Correspondence checked against the ICAI tabular mapping of the two Acts and the BharatTax.co section commentary.
The decision most relied on for Section 155(15) is Hiaben Jayantilal Shah v. ITO (310 ITR 31), cited in 66 of the 28 judgments on BharatTax that turn on this section.
Leading authorities on Section 155(15)
When an assessee presents a registered valuer's report for an asset, the Assessing Officer, if forming an opinion that the value claimed is less than the fair market value, must refer the valuation to the Valuation Officer under Section 55A(a). The AO cannot unilaterally reject the registered valuer's report or resort to Section 55A(b) in such a scenario.
The Assessing Officer (AO) is not required to refer the valuation to the District Valuation Officer (DVO) if the AO has conducted a detailed inquiry and is satisfied with the cost of construction. Strict adherence to procedural requirements is essential; failure to comply with mandatory conditions renders the assessment based on such non-compliance invalid.
The Assessing Officer cannot reduce the value adopted by the assessee based on a Registered Valuer's report if the value is claimed in accordance with the Registered Valuer's estimate. A reference to the DVO for ascertaining fair market value as on 1.4.1981 was not competent prior to the amendment in section 55A with effect from 1.7.2012.
