Writ relief against tax show-cause notice refused where limitation objection under section 34(3) could be decided by tax authorities first.

A writ petition to quash a show-cause notice proposing action under section 23A of the Income-tax Act, 1922 was not maintainable merely because section 34(3) was said to bar the proposed assessment. The limitation bar under section 34(3) restricts the making of an assessment or reassessment order, but it does not prevent issuance of a notice asking the assessee to show cause. The income-tax authorities were competent to decide the limitation question in the first instance, and the absence of any final prejudicial order meant the writ was premature and no extraordinary relief under article 226 was warranted.

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Issues: Whether a writ petition could be entertained to quash a show-cause notice proposing action under section 23A of the Income-tax Act, 1922 on the ground that section 34(3) barred the proposed assessment.

Analysis: The bar under section 34(3) operates against the making of an assessment or reassessment order in specified cases, but it does not by itself prohibit the issuance of a show-cause notice calling upon the assessee to explain why an order under section 23A should not be made. The question whether the limitation bar applies is one that the income-tax authorities themselves are competent to decide in the first instance. The existence of the statutory machinery under the Act, together with the absence of any order finally prejudicing the petitioner, made the writ petition premature and unsupported by any case for extraordinary relief under article 226.

Conclusion: The challenge to the show-cause notice failed, and the petitioner was not entitled to writ relief.

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