Telangana High Court: Piramal Swasthya Management and Research Institute v. Assistant Commissioner of Income Tax & Anr. [W.P. (C) 12288 of 2023]
The Hon’ble High Court quashed the reassessment proceedings initiated under Sections 148A(d) and 148 of the Income Tax Act, holding that the Revenue cannot reopen an issue that had already been examined and accepted during the original scrutiny assessment under Section 143(3). The assessee, a charitable trust registered under Section 12A, had claimed exemption under Section 11(2) and filed Form 10. The AO examined the issue, sought explanations and supporting documents, and thereafter accepted the claim while completing the assessment. More than four years later, the department sought to reopen the assessment on the ground that Form 10 had not been electronically filed within the prescribed time, alleging escapement of income. Rejecting the department’s contention, the Court held that the issue had already been scrutinized and consciously accepted in the original assessment, and that reopening the assessment on the same material would amount to an impermissible review and mere change of opinion. The Court further observed that the procedural requirement of electronic filing of Form 10, introduced in the relevant assessment year, could not justify reopening a completed assessment when the manually filed Form 10 had been duly considered and accepted by the AO. Accordingly, the reassessment proceedings were set aside.
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