In Brief
The Supreme Court dismissed an appeal by the Income Tax Officer challenging a High Court's decision quashing a re-assessment notice. Tech-Span India Private Ltd., a software company, had filed its 2001-02 return and undergone regular assessment, during which the issue of Section 10A deduction allocation was examined and decided. The Income Tax Officer later sought to re-open the assessment, claiming the deduction was allowed in excess. The Court held that re-assessment cannot rest on mere change of opinion about matters already considered in the original assessment. Re-assessment requires new material facts unknown during original proceedings. Since the deduction issue was expressly examined before, the re-assessment amounted to an impermissible review. The High Court's decision was upheld.
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