Invalid reopening notice under section 34 where a return had already been filed and no assessment was completed.

A notice under section 34 of the Income-tax Act, 1922 was held invalid where the assessee had already filed a return for the relevant assessment year and no assessment on that return had yet been completed. The return could be inaccurate on merits, but it was still a return for that year, so the Income-tax Officer could not validly reopen the matter under section 34 on that basis. As the reassessment was founded entirely on the invalid notice, it could not stand and the matter was decided in favour of the assessee.

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Issues: Whether a notice under section 34 of the Income-tax Act, 1922 could validly be issued when the assessee had already filed a return for the assessment year and the assessment on that return had not been completed.

Analysis: The assessee had filed a return for the relevant assessment year before the notice under section 34 was issued. The return may have been inaccurate on the merits, but it was nonetheless a return for that year. Since the Income-tax Officer had not completed an assessment on that return, the attempt to reopen the matter by resort to section 34 was not justified. The subsequent reassessment was founded entirely on that invalid notice.

Conclusion: The notice under section 34 was invalid and the assessment made pursuant to it could not stand; the answer was in favour of the assessee.

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