Voluntary disclosure cannot be shifted to a later assessment year when the declaration relates to earlier chargeable income.

Voluntary disclosure under the Voluntary Disclosure of Income and Wealth Act, 1976 applied only to income already chargeable to tax that had escaped assessment or was not properly disclosed. A declaration made in December 1975 could not be fastened to assessment year 1976-77 where that return period had not yet arisen, and the form did not require mandatory mention of the assessment year. The confidential nature of declarations also limited enquiry into the declaration itself. On the available material, the reference to assessment year 1976-77 was treated as an obvious mistake, so the disclosed income was regarded as relating to an earlier year covered by the scheme.

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Issues: Whether income disclosed under the Voluntary Disclosure of Income and Wealth Act, 1976 in December 1975 could be assessed in assessment year 1976-77 when the declaration necessarily related to income of an earlier year.

Analysis: The statutory scheme applied only to income which had already become chargeable to tax and had either escaped assessment or had not been properly disclosed in a return. A declaration made before 1 January 1976 could not, on the facts, relate to income for assessment year 1976-77 because the return for that year had not yet become due. The prescribed form did not make it mandatory to state the assessment year, and the confidential nature of declarations prevented enquiry into the declaration itself. On the available material, the mention of assessment year 1976-77 was treated as an obvious mistake, and the disclosed amount was held to relate to an earlier year covered by the disclosure scheme.

Conclusion: The amount of Rs. 25,000 was not assessable in assessment year 1976-77 and was covered by the Voluntary Disclosure of Income and Wealth Act, 1976.

Final Conclusion: The addition made in reassessment was unsustainable and the Revenue's appeal failed.

Ratio Decidendi: A voluntary disclosure made before the close of the relevant return-filing period cannot be fastened to a later assessment year when the statute contemplates disclosure only of already chargeable or escaped income, and an erroneous assessment-year reference in the declaration does not justify assessment in that later year.

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