ITAT grants relief to Mukul Rohatgi in Rs 133 crore income assessment matter

The Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT) at Delhi has set aside a revision order passed against Senior Advocate Mukul Rohatgi, holding that the tax authorities had no material to reopen his income assessment of Rs 133.46 crore for Assessment Year 2020–21. The Tribunal allowed Rohatgi’s appeal and quashed the Principal Commissioner of Income Tax’s (PCIT) revision order, ruling that the power to revise an assessment cannot be used merely to conduct fresh enquiries or take a different view. “...there is no material available with the learned PCIT for revision of assessment order under Section 263 of the Act, which enabled him to form a prima-facie opinion that the assessment order passed by the Assessing Officer is erroneous insofar as it is prejudicial to the interest of the Revenue,” the Tribunal held. Rohatgi was assessed under scrutiny for Assessment Year 2020–21 and his income was determined at Rs 133,46,92,080 after disallowances of Rs 44.77 lakh under Section 24(b) (home loan interest deduction) and Rs 40.10 lakh under Section 14A (expenses linked to exempt income).

In March 2025, the Income Tax issued a notice proposing a revision of the completed assessment. The revision was based on three broad issues: the tax treatment of capital gains from mutual fund investments, the annual letting value (ALV) declared for multiple properties in India and abroad, and the non-initiation of penalty proceedings for alleged failure to deduct tax at source. Rohatgi was represented by Senior Advocate Sachit Jolly with Advocate Mansha Anand.