Section 151(2) — the law in short
What the courts have decided on section 151(2), in one screen. Read this first; open an entry when you need the facts, the reasoning and the source.
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PCIT v RMG Polyvinyl (I) Ltd
High CourtHelps taxpayerValidity unconfirmed
My reassessment notice says I never filed a return and gets the amount wrong. Does that make the reopening bad?
Yes, on these facts. The Delhi High Court dismissed the Revenue's appeal, holding that no error had been committed by the Tribunal in finding the reopening under section 147 bad in law. The reasons recorded contained two glaring errors: the Assessing Officer proceeded on the footing that no return had been filed when one had been filed and processed under section 143(1), and put the accommodation entries at Rs 1.56 crore when the correct figure on his own assessment order was Rs 78 lakh. That showed a failure of application of mind, and the Court could not discern the link between the tangible material and the formation of the reasons to believe.
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CIT v SPL's Siddhartha Ltd
High CourtHelps taxpayer
My reopening notice was sanctioned by the Commissioner instead of the Joint Commissioner. Does approval by a more senior officer cure the defect?
No. The Delhi High Court held that where section 151 names the Joint Commissioner as the authority to be satisfied, sanction by the Commissioner is not compliance, even though he is senior. The file here was routed through the Additional Commissioner, but he merely endorsed "CIT may kindly accord sanction" and applied no mind of his own. The Court held this was not an irregularity curable under section 292B. Where a statute requires a thing to be done in a certain manner it must be done in that manner alone, and the satisfaction of one authority cannot be substituted by that of another. The Revenue's appeal was dismissed.
Listed strongest first: Supreme Court, then High Court, then Tribunal, then CBDT. Nothing here has yet been read in full by a chartered accountant — open an entry to see where it came from.