Failure to enclose demand notice with appeal memo doesn't invalidate appeal. Precedent cited, assessee favored.

The High Court of Allahabad held that failure to enclose the demand notice with the appeal memo in Form No. 35 did not render the appeal invalid. Citing precedent, the Court ruled in favor of the assessee, emphasizing that the appeal's validity was not affected if filed within the prescribed time frame. The Court found that the Income-tax Act and relevant rules did not mandate enclosing the demand notice. As the demand notice was served on an unauthorized individual, the Court concluded that the appeal was valid. No costs were awarded due to the absence of the assessee, and the counsel's fee was set at Rs. 200.

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Issues:
1. Whether failure to enclose the demand notice with the memorandum of appeal in Form No. 35 renders the appeal invalidRs.

The High Court of Allahabad considered a case where the Income-tax Appellate Tribunal referred a question regarding the validity of an appeal filed by a Hindu undivided family for the assessment year 1965-66. The issue arose due to a delay in filing the appeal as the demand notice was allegedly served late. The Tribunal found that the demand notice was served on an individual who was not an authorized agent of the assessee. The Tribunal concluded that the failure to enclose the demand notice with the appeal memo did not render the appeal defective as neither the Income-tax Act nor the relevant rule necessitated the demand notice to be enclosed. The Court cited the decision in Lakshmiratan Engineering Works Ltd. v. Assistant Commissioner (J), Sales-tax [1968] 21 STC 154 to support this view. The Court answered the question in the affirmative, in favor of the assessee, and against the department, emphasizing that failure to enclose the demand notice did not affect the appeal's validity if it was filed within the stipulated time frame. As no appearance was made on behalf of the assessee, no costs were awarded, and the counsel's fee was assessed at Rs. 200.

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