Income Tax Officer is bound to furnish reasons for re-opening u/s 147 – High Court

Income Tax Officer is bound to furnish reasons for re-opening u/s 147 which should already be on record, prior to issuance of notice u/s 148 of the Income Tax Act, 1961 – High Court

ABCAUS Case Law Citation:
ABCAUS 2075 (2017) (09) HC

The Challenge/Grievance:
The petitioner sought a direction from the High Court upon the respondent Revenue to consider the representation in response to the notice issued under Section 147 of the Income Tax Act, 1961. In the representation, the petitioner had requested the Income Tax Officer to disclose the reasons for initiating action under Section 147 of the said Act to enable the Petitioner to file objections

Observations made by the High Court:
The High Court observed that In the light of the decision of the Honourable Supreme Court rendered in the case of GKN Driveshafts (India) Limited, the ITO was bound to indicate the reasons for re-opening, which should already be on record, prior to issuance of notice under Section 148 of the Income Tax Act, 1961. Therefore, the ITO was bound to comply with the request made by the petitioner. 

Held:
The ITO was directed to consider the petitioner’s representation and communicate the reasons for re-opening to the petitioner within a period of 10 days from the date of receipt of a copy of the order.