Legal Challenge To Re-opening Of Assessment Not Raised Before CITA: ITAT Restores Appeal For Fresh Adjudication

This article discusses a case in which the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT) held that the taxpayer had failed to raise a challenge to the reopening of assessment before the Commissioner (Appeals) (“CITA”) and thus procedural irregularity vitiated the assessment. The matter was restored for fresh adjudication, underscoring that objections to reassessment must be properly raised at the appellate stage rather than being first surfed at the tribunal. The article highlights procedural rigour of tax litigation: the importance of voicing specific grounds before the correct authority, the risk of forfeiting grounds, and how formalities of appeal and adjudication remain critical even in tax-reopening cases.