Direct Tax Weekly Round-Up: 21 To 27 January 2024

Supreme Court Tax Return Filed Without Regular Books Of Account Not Invalid, Burden To Call For Curing Of Defects On Assessing Officer: Supreme Court Case Title: M/S Mangalam Publications, Kottayam V. Commissioner Of Income Tax, Kottayam Citation : 2024 LiveLaw (SC) 55 While deciding the question as to whether reopening of a concluded assessment under Section 147 of the Income Tax Act (“Act”) was legally sustainable or not, the Supreme Court recently held that for the purposes of tax assessment, an assessee's obligation is limited to making a "full and true" disclosure of all "material" or primary facts, and thereafter, the burden shifts on the assessing officer. If a return is defective, it is upto the officer that he intimate the assessee in order that defects may be cured. But if the officer fails to do so, the return cannot be called defective. Bombay High Court AO Has No Jurisdiction To Assess Or Reassess Income Which Was Subject Matter Of Appeal: Bombay High Court Case Title: Shri Shanmukhananda Fine Arts Versus The Deputy Director of Income Tax (Exemptions) The Bombay High Court has held that the AO has no jurisdiction to assess or reassess any income, which was the subject matter of an appeal. The bench of Justice K.R. Shriram and Justice Neela Gokhale has observed that since the grant of benefit under Section 11 of the Income Tax Act, 1961, was the subject matter of appeal and has been held in favour of the assessee, the matter cannot be reopened. Bombay High Court Directs Dept. To Accept Declaration Under VsV Act Case Title: Neelam Ajit Versus ACIT The Bombay High Court at Goa has directed the department to accept the declaration under the Vivad Se Vishwas Act, 2020 (VsV Act). The bench of Justice M. S. Sonak and Justice Valmiki Sa Menezes has observed that the delay alleged on the part of the Petitioner is hardly 11 days. The alleged deficit payment, if any, is of hardly 2,21,862. However, even if it is assumed that there was some marginal delay, this delay is attributable to the technical glitches and also the mistakes of the Respondents in processing the Petitioner's declaration.

Direct Tax Weekly Round-Up: 21 To 27 January 2024

Mariya Paliwala

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