More than one Court in the case of CWT v. C. Seshachalam Chetty (108TAX570) , 101DTR244,209, 393ITR658 have held that internal audit report finding does not amount to tangible information for reopening of an assessment. Following the Apex Court ruling in the case of Indian & Eastern Newspapers Society v. CIT (119ITR197) the Court held that in cases of reopening the assessing officer is obliged to apply his mind independently and thus he cannot mechanically use the view or the interpretation of law expressed by the internal audit party.
Notice based solely on objections of audit party held invalid vide 392ITR330, 392ITR336. However vide 392ITR404 situations may also arise where the audit party merely brings to the notice of the Assessing Officer, a certain element having relation to the income of the assessee. If the Assessing Officer on the basis of such information forms an independent belief that income chargeable to tax has escaped assessment, there is nothing preventing him from exercising the power of reassessment. In this case the AO included one more ground in recording his reasons over and above those pointed by the audit party to an clinch addition.