In coming months, I-T may reopen many big old cases

The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT), guided by a Supreme Court (SC) order issued in April, has sent out comprehensive instructions to tax officials regarding reopening of past cases under the Income-tax (I-T) Act.

The instructions dated August 23—aimed at ensuring a uniform practice—state that there will be no reopening and reassessment of completed cases only where the decision of the appellate authorities has become final. While this provides some relief, the coming months may see reopening of past cases and reassessments in several instances where the sums involved are significant.

Deepak Joshi, an SC advocate, explained, “The silver lining to the CBDT instruction is that it has decided to not touch at least those cases where no appeal is pending before the appellate authorities and the proceedings have attained finality prior to the SC decision the lead case heard in April.”