Reassessment Based Solely on Audit Objection Invalid: Allahabad HC

The Allahabad High Court has quashed reassessment proceedings initiated against leather exporter for Assessment Year 2017–18, holding that reassessment cannot be sustained when it is founded merely on an audit objection and unsupported by any independent application of mind or objective material indicating escapement of income. The Bench of Justice Saumitra Dayal Singh and Justice Indrajeet Shukla allowed the writ petition filed by the assessee and set aside the order passed under Section 148A(d) of the Income Tax Act, 1961, along with the consequential reassessment notice issued under Section 148. The petitioner/assessee, Zazsons Exports Private Limited is a manufacturing company engaged in producing shoes and finished leather from raw goat hides and skins, with a substantial portion of its output exported overseas. For the relevant year, the company’s assessment had already been completed under Section 143(3) on December 30, 2019. Nearly three years later, on January 19, 2023, an audit objection was raised alleging that sundry creditors amounting to approximately ₹28.96 crore were not properly established due to the absence of PAN and address details. Although the Assessing Officer initially objected to the audit objection and defended the original assessment, a notice under Section 148A(b) was eventually issued on February 28, 2024, alleging escapement of income. This culminated in the impugned reassessment order and notice dated March 31, 2024. The petitioner contended that reassessment proceedings cannot be initiated merely at the dictate of an audit party. It was argued that while an audit objection may constitute “information,” reassessment requires an independent satisfaction by the Assessing Officer based on objective material. The company further relied on Section 40A(3) read with Rule 6DD, highlighting that cash purchases of raw hides and skins exceeding ₹10,000 per person per day are legally permissible. Since there was no dispute regarding sales, manufacturing activity, or export turnover, the audit objection was described as speculative and unfounded. It was also emphasized that the existence and genuineness of sundry creditors were not in doubt, as their names and the Mandis from which they operated had been consistently disclosed. Importantly, the same accounting practice had been accepted by the Revenue for several years, including in appellate proceedings dating back to Assessment Years 2005–06 and 2006–07. The department argued that an audit objection constitutes valid information and that each assessment year is an independent unit, rendering the principle of res judicata inapplicable. It was contended that the burden to establish the identity and genuineness of creditors lay with the assessee and that failure to furnish PAN and address details justified reopening of the assessment. The High Court observed that the statutory framework itself permits cash purchases of raw hides and skins and does not mandate maintenance of PAN or address details of sellers in such cases. The Bench noted that no objective material had been brought on record to cast doubt on the physical existence or genuineness of the creditors. The Court held that the absence of PAN and address details, in the absence of a statutory obligation to maintain such information, could at best give rise to suspicion. Such suspicion, the Court observed, should have been addressed during regular assessment proceedings and cannot form the sole basis for reopening concluded assessments. The Bench cautioned against allowing reassessment proceedings to degenerate into a “fishing expedition”, emphasizing that even under the amended reassessment regime, the existence of objective material indicating escapement of income remains a jurisdictional precondition. The Court also took note of the consistent acceptance of the assessee’s accounting practices by the Revenue over the years, observing that there was no material change in facts or business practices to justify a departure. Case Details Case Title: Zazsons Exports Private Limited Versus ACIT Case No.: Writ Tax No. - 813 Of 2024 Date: 02/02/2026 Counsel For Petitioner: Atul Gupta Counsel For Respondent: A.S.G.I., Gaurav Mahajan Click Here To Read Order Read More: Fake Income Tax Officer Arrested in Surat While Attempting Extortion

Reassessment Based Solely on Audit Objection Invalid: Allahabad HC

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