Pending acquisition appeals prevent finality, and voluntary disclosure relief applies once scheme conditions are satisfied.

Acquisition proceedings under Chapter XX-A of the Income-tax Act do not attain finality while statutory appeals under sections 269G and 269H remain pending, because finality arises only after the appeal period expires without an appeal or after High Court confirmation. The voluntary disclosure press note issued with the Voluntary Disclosure of Income and Wealth Act, 1976 extended relief to transferees whose acquisition proceedings were still non-final. Where the assessee made the prescribed disclosure, deposit, and obtained the certificate, the scheme required the pending acquisition proceedings to be dropped.

---

---

Issues: Whether acquisition proceedings initiated under Chapter XX-A of the Income-tax Act, 1961 could be treated as final while the statutory appeal under section 269H was pending, and whether the benefit of the Voluntary Disclosure of Income and Wealth Act, 1976 and the accompanying press note required the proceedings to be dropped after the assessee made the prescribed disclosure and obtained the certificate.

Analysis: The order of acquisition under section 269F(6) did not attain finality so long as the statutory appellate remedies under sections 269G and 269H remained available and were in fact being pursued, because proceedings under the chapter continued until the appeal process was exhausted. The Explanation to section 269I(1) made it clear that an acquisition order becomes final only on the expiry of the appeal period where no appeal is filed, or upon confirmation by the High Court where the matter is taken in appeal. The press note issued in connection with the Voluntary Disclosure of Income and Wealth Act, 1976 was intended to extend relief to transferees whose acquisition proceedings had not yet become final, and the assessee had complied with the required disclosure, deposit, and certification requirements.

Conclusion: The acquisition proceedings were not final when the voluntary disclosure was made, and the refusal to drop them was unsustainable; the proceedings had to be treated as dropped after issuance of the certificate.

Final Conclusion: The writ petition succeeded, the impugned communications were quashed, and the assessee obtained the benefit of the voluntary disclosure scheme in relation to the pending acquisition proceedings.

Ratio Decidendi: Where a statute makes finality of an acquisition order contingent on exhaustion of the appellate process, pending appeals prevent finality and a beneficial disclosure scheme covering non-final proceedings must be applied to grant the promised relief once its conditions are satisfied.

---