In two recent decisions of the Karnataka High Court and the Delhi High Court, published 4 November and 5 November 2015 respectively, the courts found that the tax authorities could not reopen assessments without providing a valid reason.
In the Karnataka case, the tax authorities issued a notice for reopening the assessment of a taxpayer. In response, the taxpayer asked the tax authority to treat the return for the year concerned as having been filed in response to the notice, and asked for …