Point of Law: Section 147 enables the Assessing Officer to assess or reassess any income chargeable to tax which he has reason to believe has escaped assessment for an assessment year.

JUDGMENT :

K.R. SHRIRAM, J.

1. Petitioner is impugning a notice dated 30th March, 2021 issued under Section 148 of the Income Tax Act, 1961 (the Act) seeking to re-open the assessment for A.Y. 2017-18 and the order dated 22nd June, 2021 rejecting petitioner’s objections.

2. The re-opening is proposed to be made within four years of the end of the relevant assessment year. In such a situation even though proviso to Section 147 of the Act would not apply, and the Assessing Officer has to only make out availability of tangible material, it is settled law that if the reopening is based on mere change of opinion, the notice issued under Section 148 of the Act has to be set aside. Paragraph No. 12 of the judgment dated 23rd November, 2021, Reserve Bank Officers Co-operative Credit Society Ltd. vs. The Income Tax Officer and Others, Writ Petition No. 3332 of 2019 (unreported) reads as under:

12. Section 147 enables the Assessing Officer to assess or reassess any income chargeable to tax which he has reason to believe has escaped assessment for an assessment year. The proviso to section 147 imposes additional requirements where an assessment is sought to be reopened beyond a period of four years from the end of the relevant assessment year. In the present case, the exercise of power is within a period of four years and, therefore, the requirements of the proviso are not attracted. Where the Assessing Officer purports to exercise power under section 147 within a period of four years of the end of the relevant assessment year, the condition precedent to the exercise of the power, is the existence of a reason to believe that any income chargeable to tax has escaped assessment. We must keep in mind the conceptual difference between power to review and power to reassess. The Assessing Officer has no power to review; he has the power to reassess. The reassessment has to be based on the fulfillment of certain conditions. It is settled law that if the concept of change of opinion is removed, then in the guise of reopening the assessment, the review would take place. The concept of change of opinion has been built in the statute to check abuse of power by the Assessing Officer. The Assessing Officer has the power to reopen only when there is tangible material to come to the conclusion that there is escapement of income from the original assessment. The test of “tangible material” has been enunciated in a judgment of the Supreme Court in CIT vs. Kelvinator of India Ltd. held thus (Page 564):

“.......one needs to give a schematic interpretation to the words ‘reason to believe’ failing which, we are afraid, section 147 would give arbitrary powers to the Assessing Officer to reopen assessments on the basis of ‘mere change of opinion’ which can-not be per se reason to reopen. We must also keep in mind the conceptual difference between power to review and power to reassess. The Assessing Officer has no power to review; he has the power to reassess. But reassessment has to be based on the fulfillment of certain pre-conditions. If the concept of ‘change of opinion’ is removed, as contended on behalf of the Department, then the review would take place in the garb of reopening the assessment. One must treat the concept of ‘change of opinion’ as an in-built test to check abuse of power by the Assessing Officer. Hence, after April 1, 1989, the Assessing Officer has the power to reopen, provided there is ‘tangible material’ to come to the conclusion that there is escapement of income from assessment. Reasons must have a link with the formation of the belief.....”

3. We have considered the reasons recorded and communicated to petitioner on 19th April, 2021. The reasons indicate that the Jurisdictional Assessing Officer (JAO) has proceeded on incorrect facts and also he has proceeded on pure change of opinion. We say incorrect facts because the assessment order under Section 143(3) of the Act was passed on 21st December, 2019 determining total income of Rs. 1,20,8