Reassessment validity under income tax law upheld where relevant material was not shown to have been considered in original assessment.

Reassessment under section 147(b) of the Income-tax Act, 1961 was upheld because the assessee did not show that the relevant material had been considered in the original assessments for 1981-82 and 1982-83, and the court declined to presume that knowledge from one year carried into another. The burden remained on the assessee to establish that the earlier assessments were made after considering the material relied upon. For 1983-84, reassessment was also supported by the assessee's failure to account for arrears in the later year as promised and by additional information from the Estate Manager indicating escaped income.

---

---

Issues: Whether the reassessment proceedings under section 147(b) of the Income-tax Act, 1961 were valid for the relevant assessment years.

Analysis: The scope of the reference was confined to the question framed by the Tribunal. For the assessment years 1981-82 and 1982-83, the material relied upon by the assessee was not shown to have been before the Assessing Officer when the original assessments were made. The Court declined to presume that the Assessing Officer necessarily carried forward knowledge of note 16 from one assessment year to another. The burden lay on the assessee to establish that the original assessments had been made after considering the relevant material. For assessment year 1983-84, even assuming that the Assessing Officer had noticed note 16, the reassessment was still supported because the assessee did not account for the arrears in the subsequent year as promised, and further information received from the Estate Manager clarified the basis of enhancement and payment, supplying additional material for belief that income had escaped assessment.

Conclusion: The reassessment under section 147(b) was upheld and the answer to the referred question was against the assessee.

---