Once High Court Decides, Lower Authorities Cannot Revisit the Same Issue: ITAT:

Once High Court Decides, Lower Authorities Cannot Revisit the Same Issue: ITAT The Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT), Ahmedabad Bench, held that once a case has been decided by the High Court, lower authorities cannot decide on the same. Therefore, the tribunal allowed the Revenue's appeal and quashed the CIT(A)'s order for the Assessment Year 2019-20. The High Court's directions are considered final In the present case, the assessee had filed an appeal before the Gujarat High Court, challenging the validity of the assessment order passed by the Assessing Officer (AO), arguing no proper notice under Section 142(1) of the Act was served before issuing the final directions.

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When the high court analysed the case, it noted that the assessee was granted a proper opportunity of hearing during the assessment proceedings, which reflects an explicit violation of the principles of natural justice. Considering the same, the high court quashed the impugned assessment order dated March 21, 2024, passed under Section 147/144B of the Act, through an order dated October 16, 2025. Therefore, the related demand notice dated March 21, 2024, issued under Section 156 of the Act was also set aside. The case was sent back to the tax authorities for fresh consideration. Despite the challenged assessment order dated March 21, 2024, being quashed by the Gujarat High Court, the CIT(A) decided to hear the case and after hearing the case, quashed the impugned assessment order on a different ground, holding that the reopening of the assessment was invalid.

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Being aggrieved with the CIT(A)'s order, the income tax authorities approached the ITAT Ahmedabad. The Tribunal observed that once the High Court had already quashed the initial assessment order, there was no valid reason left for the CIT(A) to decide on the same case which had already been decided. Therefore, the tribunal quashed the CIT(A)'s order and allowed the tax authorities' appeal. Now, the tax authorities have been directed to proceed with the fresh assessment as instructed by the High Court.