DELHI HC: AO CERTIFICATE FOR DEDUCTION OF TAX TENTATIVE AND NOT FINAL

The Division Bench of Chief Justice Dipak Misra and Justice Sanjiv Khanna of the Delhi High Court, held in a judgment passed on April 25 that the opinion expressed by the assessing officer (AO) while giving a certificate for deduction of tax at a lower rate under section 197 of the Income Tax Act, 1961 is interim or tentative or provisional in nature and would not bar the AO from initiating proceedings under section 147 of the Act on the ground that there has been a change of opinion. Areva T&D had filed a writ petition before the High Court claiming that a mere change of opinion does not confer jurisdiction on the authority to initiate a proceeding under section 147 of the Act after it has issued a
certificate under section 197 of the Act.