In Brief
This appeal concerns whether a notice to reopen a concluded tax assessment is valid when the taxable income in question did not actually accrue during that assessment year. The premises belonged to the appellant and was leased to the Government of India. Although rent was enhanced with retrospective effect to September 1987, the enhancement was formally granted only in March 1994. The Court held that income accrues only when the assessee acquires a right to receive it. Despite the retrospective nature of the enhancement, the right was created only in 1994, not in the 1989-90 assessment year. Therefore, the notice to reopen that year's assessment was issued without jurisdiction and was set aside.
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