Thirty clear days requirement for tax notice not met where return was demanded within thirty days

A notice requiring a return to be furnished within thirty days did not satisfy a statutory requirement of not less than thirty days, because the law demanded thirty clear days. The wording of the notice ran to the expiry of the period rather than excluding both terminal points as required, so it failed to give the assessee the full statutory time. Later action on the notice did not cure the original defect. The notice was therefore invalid for non-compliance with the statutory notice requirement under the Indian Income-tax Act, 1922.

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Issues: Whether a notice requiring a return to be furnished within thirty days satisfied the requirement of a statutory notice giving not less than thirty days.

Analysis: The statutory language required a period of not less than thirty days, which meant thirty clear days. A direction to furnish the return within thirty days did not provide the assessee with thirty clear days, because the period stated by the notice ran up to the expiry of the time rather than excluding both terminal points in the manner required by the section. The fact that the notice was later acted upon did not cure the defect in its original form.

Conclusion: The notice was invalid and did not comply with Section 22(2) of the Indian Income-tax Act, 1922.

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