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79. In the present case, the issue sought to be revised under section 263 pertains to the taxability of interest on enhanced compensation. On a perusal of the assessment order, we find that there is no discussion whatsoever on the nature of such interest, its taxability under the Act, or the applicability of sections 56(2)(viii), 57(iv), 145A(b) or the judicial position governing interest on enhanced compensation. The assessment order does not record the issuance of any query, consideration of any reply of the assessee, or examination of the legal and factual aspects relevant to the said issue. In a faceless regime, where all enquiries and responses are mandatorily recorded in the electronic record, the absence of discussion clearly indicates that the issue was not verified or examined at the assessment stage.

95. The statutory scheme post insertion of sections 56(2)(viii), 145A(b), and 57(iv) clearly demarcates the tax treatment of interest received on enhanced compensation. Section 56(2)(viii) specifically brings such interest to tax under the head "Income from other sources". Section 145A(b) mandates the year of taxability of such interest on receipt basis, and section 57(iv) provides for a standard deduction of fifty per cent of such income, thereby constituting a complete and self-contained code governing the taxation of interest on enhanced compensation.

96. Once the legislature has consciously classified interest on enhanced compensation as income from other sources through a specific charging provision, such income loses the character of capital gains and, consequently, falls outside the ambit of exemption under section 10(37) of the Act. Permitting the assessee to invoke section 10(37) in such circumstances would render the specific charging and computation provisions otiose, which is impermissible in law.

97. It is a settled principle of statutory interpretation, consistently affirmed by the Hon'ble Supreme Court of India, that where a statute contains both a specific provision and a general provision, the specific provision must prevail. A general exemption provision cannot override an express and specific charging mechanism enacted by Parliament. Therefore, the reliance placed by the assessee on section 10(37), a general exemption provision, in the face of the specific charging framework under sections 56(2)(viii), 145A(b), and 57(iv), is legally unsustainable and deserves to be rejected.

107. In the present case, the assessment order is conspicuously silent on the applicability of sections 145A(b), 56(2)(viii) and 57(iv) of the Act, which specifically govern the taxability of interest on enhanced compensation. There is nothing on record to demonstrate that the Assessing Officer examined the issue in the light of the statutory framework applicable for the assessment year under consideration. A mere reference to judicial decisions in the reasons for reopening, without application of the relevant statutory provisions at the stage of assessment, cannot be regarded as a conscious or reasoned view taken by the Assessing Officer. Similarly, the plea of "change of opinion" raised by the assessee is also devoid of merit. For the doctrine of change of opinion to apply, there must be a conscious formation of opinion by the Assessing Officer after due examination of facts and law. In the absence of any discussion or reasoning in the assessment order, it cannot be said that the Assessing Officer had formed any such opinion. Lack of enquiry or non-application of mind cannot be protected under the guise of a possible view.