Final assessment order doctrine: an unsigned draft assessment was valid, and the later notice was invalid.

A purported draft assessment was treated as a final assessment order because the Income-tax Officer had already reached a considered decision on the merits and performed the statutory function assigned to him. The absence of a signature, and the absence of any requirement in the Act for prior approval by the Inspecting Assistant Commissioner, did not prevent the order from taking legal effect or render it tentative. Since the assessment was complete, a subsequent notice under section 22(4) seeking production of books for the same matter had no legal basis and was invalid.

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Issues: Whether the purported draft assessment was in law the Income-tax Officer's final assessment order and, if so, whether the subsequent notice under section 22(4) and further proceedings were valid.

Analysis: The assessment had been reached by the Income-tax Officer on the merits and embodied his considered decision. The requirement that the order be placed before the Inspecting Assistant Commissioner for approval had no warrant in the Act and could not postpone or destroy the legal effect of the assessment made by the officer charged with that duty. The absence of signature did not prevent the order from being an assessment where the substance of a completed decision was present. Once the Income-tax Officer had exercised his statutory function, the assessment could not be treated as merely tentative because of an unauthorized superior approval process. Since the assessment was complete, the later notice calling for production of books for the same matter was without legal basis.

Conclusion: The draft assessment was held to be a final assessment order, and the notice under section 22(4) was invalid; the petitioner succeeded.

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