The Income Tax Appellate Tribunal, Delhi Bench, allowed the appeals filed by the assessee and held that the Commissioner of Income Tax (Appeals) exceeded his jurisdiction in directing the Assessing Officer to initiate reassessment proceedings under Section 147 of the Income Tax Act after deleting additions made under Section 153A for want of incriminating material. The Tribunal observed that the powers of the CIT(A) under Section 251 are limited to confirming, reducing, enhancing, or annulling the assessment, and do not extend to issuing directions for reopening completed assessments. Relying on the judgments of the Supreme Court in ITO v. Murlidhar Bhagwan Das, K.M. Sharma v. ITO, and Abhisar Buildwell Pvt. Ltd. v. CIT, the Tribunal held that Section 150 cannot be invoked to bypass the statutory limitations prescribed under Sections 147 to 149, particularly where the assessment had already attained finality and no incriminating material was found during search. The Tribunal further held that what is impermissible directly cannot be permitted indirectly, and that appellate authorities cannot compel or suggest initiation of reassessment proceedings, as such power rests exclusively with the Assessing Officer upon independent satisfaction. Accordingly, the directions issued by the CIT(A) were held to be ultra vires and were set aside, and the appeals of the assessee for Assessment Years 2015-16 and 2016-17 were allowed.

SOURCE LINK

https://itat.gov.in/public/files/upload/1767959139-5V4tf9-1-TO.pdf

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