Revisionary power cannot replace assessment enquiries when the Assessing Officer has applied mind to the material on record.

Revision under section 263 cannot be sustained where the Assessing Officer issued detailed notices, called for records and conducted multiple hearings before completing assessment. The assessment materials showed enquiry into TDS on transport, labour and machinery hire charges, EPF contribution, work-in-progress, cash deposits and supporting vouchers, so the order could not be treated as one passed without application of mind. A Commissioner may not invoke revision merely because the enquiry is considered inadequate or a different view of the same material is preferred. The revisional order was therefore unsustainable and the assessment remained undisturbed.

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Issues: Whether the Commissioner was justified in invoking revisionary jurisdiction under section 263 of the Income-tax Act, 1961 on the ground that the assessment under section 143(3) was completed in haste without proper enquiry, verification or examination of records.

Analysis: The assessment records showed that the Assessing Officer had issued detailed notices under section 142(1), called for extensive particulars and documents, and conducted multiple hearings before completing the assessment. The issues later relied upon in the revision order, including TDS on transport, labour and machinery hire charges, EPF contribution, work-in-progress, cash deposits and supporting vouchers, had already been enquired into during assessment. On these facts, the assessment order could not be characterised as one passed without enquiry. The revisional power under section 263 cannot be used to substitute a different view merely because the Commissioner considers the enquiry insufficient or prefers a different conclusion on the same material.

Conclusion: The invocation of section 263 was not justified and the revisional order was unsustainable.

Final Conclusion: The assessment order remained undisturbed and the assessee succeeded in the appeal.

Ratio Decidendi: Where the Assessing Officer has conducted enquiries and applied his mind to the material before passing the assessment order, revision under section 263 cannot be sustained merely on an allegation of inadequate enquiry or a different perception of the same facts.

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