JD JEWELLERS,DELHI V. ITO WARD-58(3), DELHI

ITA 2908/DEL/2025

AI Insights

The case involves JD Jewellers appealing against the reassessment order passed by the Income Tax Officer for the Assessment Year 2017-18. The primary legal issue was the validity of the jurisdiction assumed by the Assessing Officer under section 147 of the Income Tax Act, 1961, due to the approval for reassessment being obtained from the PCIT rather than the PCCIT, as required for reassessments initiated beyond three years from the end of the relevant assessment year. The Tribunal, referencing a decision by the Delhi High Court, found that the reassessment was not validly sanctioned and thus quashed the proceedings.

• Counselvise Citation: [2025] 140 COUNSELVISE.COM (IT) 787355 (ITAT-DELHI)
• Duration Of Justice: 6 month(s) 18 day(s)
• Appeal Type: Income Tax Appeal
• Pronouncement Date: 19-11-2025
• Appeal Filed By: Assessee
• Order Result: Allowed
• Bench Allotted: C
• Assessment Year: 2017-2018
• Appeal Filed On: 01-05-2025
• Other Referred Cases: Kids Dream International Private Limited vs ACIT, Abhinav Jindal H.U.F. v. Commissioner of Income Tax and Ors
• Laws Referred To: Income-tax Act, 1961
• Result in Favour of: Assessee
• Court: TRIBUNAL
• Department Lawyers: OM PRAKASH
• Assessee Lawyers: C. S. ANAND
• Keywords: Reassessment proceedings; Reopening of assessment; Competent authority
• Section: 147; 148

Judgement Text

"Page | 1 INCOME TAX APPELLATE TRIBUNAL DELHI BENCH “C”: NEW DELHI BEFORE SHRI M. BALAGANESH, ACCOUNTANT MEMBER AND SHRI SUDHIR KUMAR, JUDICIAL MEMBER ITA No. 2908/Del/2025 (Assessment Year: 2017-18) JD Jewellers, C/o. CS Anand, Adv, N-81, First Floor (Part- B), Defence Colony, Bhishma Pitamah Marg, New Delhi Vs. Income Tax Officer, Ward-58(3), Delhi (Appellant) (Respondent) PAN: AAFFJ2188K Assessee by : Shri C. S. Anand, Adv Ms. Vaishnavi, Adv Ms. Astha Sharma, Adv Revenue by: Shri Om Prakash, Sr. DR Date of Hearing 02/09/2025 Date of pronouncement 19/11/2025 O R D E R PER M. BALAGANESH, A. M.: 1. The appeal in ITA No. 2908/Del/2025 for AY 2017-18, arise out of the order of the National Faceless Appeal Centre (NFAC), Delhi [hereinafter referred to as „ld. NFAC‟, in short] in Appeal No. ITBA/NFAC/S/250/2024-25/1074408001(1) dated 12.03.2025 against the order of assessment passed u/s 147 r.w.s 144B of the Income-tax Act, 1961 (hereinafter referred to as „the Act‟) dated 18.05.2023 by the Assessing Officer, Assessment Unit, Income Tax Department (hereinafter referred to as „ld. AO‟). Printed from counselvise.com ITA No. 2908/Del/2025 JD Jewellers Page | 2 2. The Ground No. 9 raised by the assessee is as to whether the assumption of jurisdiction of the Learned AO under section 147 of the Act could be construed as valid when the approval under section 151 of the Act has been obtained from Learned Principal Commissioner of Income Tax (PCIT) instead of Learned Principal Chief Commissioner of Income Tax (PCCIT ) . 3. We have heard the rival submissions and perused the materials available on record. The issue involved is reopening of assessment for the Assessment Year 2017-18. For this purpose, the Learned AO obtained approval under section 151 of the Act from the Learned PCIT which fact is quite evident from the order passed under section 148 of the Act dated 21-7-2022. Since the reopening in the instant case has been made beyond 3 years from the end of the relevant assessment year, the specified sanctioning authority for the purposes of section 148 of the Act is Learned PCCIT. Since the approval in the instant case has been obtained from a wrong authority, the entire reassessment proceedings gets vitiated. Reliance in this regard has been rightly placed by the Learned AR before us on the decision of the Hon‟ble Jurisdictional Delhi High Court in the case of Kids Dream International Private Limited vs ACIT in W P (C ) 2814/2023 dated 24-2-2025 . The relevant operative portion of the said order is reproduced below:- “2. As is evident from the above, the solitary question which was canvassed for our consideration was the issue of sanction as contemplated under section 151 of the Income Tax Act, 1961 [“Act”]. 3.The reassessment action for Assessment Year [“AY”] 2017-18 came to be commenced immediately after a lapse of three years from the end of the relevant AY. It is in the aforesaid backdrop that Mr. Kantoor, learned counsel, had submitted that the said sanction accorded by the Principal Commissioner of Income Tax [“PCIT”] would not sustain. Printed from counselvise.com ITA No. 2908/Del/2025 JD Jewellers Page | 3 4. We note that while dealing with the said question, we had in Abhinav Jindal H.U.F. v. Commissioner of Income Tax and Ors [2024 SCC OnLine Del 6585] duly enunciated the legal position which would obtain. We had ultimately in Abhinav Jindal held that the Taxation & Other Laws (Relaxation and Amendment of Certain Provisions) Act, 2020 [“TOLA”] provisions would have no bearing on the identification of the competent authority under section 151 for according sanction. 5. In view of the aforesaid, and since undisputedly the facts of the present case the sanction was accorded only by the PCIT, the reassessment action would not sustain. 6. Accordingly and for all the aforesaid reasons, we allow the instant writ petition and quash the impugned order referable to section 148A(d) dated 30 July 2022 and notice under section 148 of even date.” 4. Respectfully following the same, the reassessment proceedings are hereby quashed and Ground No. 9 raised by the assessee is allowed. 5. Since the entire reassessment is quashed, the other grounds raised by the assessee both on law as well on facts need not be gone into and they are left open. 6. In the result, the appeal of the assessee is allowed. Order pronounced in the open court on 19/11/2025. -Sd/- -Sd/- (SUDHIR KUMAR) (M. BALAGANESH) JUDICIAL MEMBER ACCOUNTANT MEMBER Dated: 19/11/2025 A K Keot Copy forwarded to 1. Applicant 2. Respondent 3. CIT Printed from counselvise.com ITA No. 2908/Del/2025 JD Jewellers Page | 4 4. CIT (A) 5. DR:ITAT ASSISTANT REGISTRAR ITAT, New Delhi Printed from counselvise.com "