2018 (7) TMI 1728 - HC - Income Tax

Review application challenging tribunal's decision on income due to bitumen supply dismissed. Limited scope of review emphasized.

M/s D.N. SINGH, Sunil Bhawan, Mohanpur, Punaichak, P.O. and P.S. Shastrinagar and Sri Dudheshwar Nath Singh Versus The Commissioner Of Income Tax AND The Assistant Commissioner of Income Tax, Central Circle 4.

M/s D.N. SINGH, Sunil Bhawan, Mohanpur, Punaichak, P.O. and P.S. Shastrinagar and Sri Dudheshwar Nath Singh Versus The Commissioner Of Income Tax AND The ... Issues:1. Review application against judgment dismissing appeal.2. Dispute over additional income due to bitumen short supply.3. Applicability of Section 69A of the Income Tax Act.4. Scope and ambit of review application under the Income Tax Act.5. Consideration of different views by the appellate tribunal for separate assessment years.Issue 1: Review application against judgment dismissing appealThe review application challenged a Division Bench judgment dismissing the appeal filed by the review petitioner against the order of the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal. The Tribunal had reversed the order of the Commissioner (Appeals) regarding the additional income of &8377; 1,04,72,720.30 due to bitumen short supply by the assessee.Issue 2: Dispute over additional income due to bitumen short supplyThe dispute arose from the assessing officer's conclusion that the assessee owed a sum of &8377; 1,04,72,720.30 for bitumen short supplied to the Road Construction Department. The Tribunal found the delivery challans submitted by the assessee to be false and fabricated, leading to the addition of the said amount to the assessee's income under Section 69A of the Income Tax Act.Issue 3: Applicability of Section 69A of the Income Tax ActThe Tribunal justified the addition under Section 69A based on discrepancies in the delivery of bitumen, as confirmed by Executive Engineers. The Tribunal's decision was challenged through substantial questions of law, which were answered in favor of the revenue and against the review petitioner.Issue 4: Scope and ambit of review application under the Income Tax ActThe review application questioned the scope of review under the Income Tax Act. Citing precedents, the Court clarified that a review is not an appeal in disguise but is limited to correcting patent errors apparent on the record. The Court emphasized that the review cannot be equivalent to the jurisdiction exercised in an appeal.Issue 5: Consideration of different views by the appellate tribunal for separate assessment yearsThe review petitioner highlighted that the appellate tribunal had taken different views for separate assessment years, allowing the appeal for one year and remanding the matter for another. However, the Court held that the correctness of the tribunal's decision for a different year does not impact the finality of the decision for the year in question. The Court upheld the Division Bench's finding, concluding that the review application lacked merit and was dismissed accordingly.