Tax record confidentiality survives repeal, and courts cannot summon protected assessment records where disclosure remains barred.

Confidentiality attached to income-tax assessment records for earlier assessment years remained protected despite the omission of section 137 of the Income-tax Act, 1961. The Orissa HC applied section 54 of the 1922 Act, section 137 of the 1961 Act, and section 6(c) of the General Clauses Act to hold that repeal or omission did not remove the existing bar on disclosure. The court also held that section 138 did not empower it to summon the records; it only enabled the tax authorities to decide disclosure in appropriate cases. Accordingly, a court summons for the records was without jurisdiction and the challenge succeeded.

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Issues: Whether income-tax assessment records relating to earlier assessment years could be summoned from the Income-tax Officer despite the statutory prohibition on disclosure and the repeal of section 137 of the Income-tax Act, 1961.

Analysis: The confidentiality provisions under section 54 of the Income-tax Act, 1922 and section 137 of the Income-tax Act, 1961 governed the documents for the relevant assessment years. The omission of section 137 by the Finance Act, 1964 did not show any contrary intention to destroy the protection already attached to such records. Applying section 6(c) of the General Clauses Act, the repeal or omission did not remove the earlier bar against disclosure, and the court could not compel production of the documents. The provision in section 138 did not authorise the court to summon the records; it only empowered the income-tax authorities to decide on disclosure in appropriate cases.

Conclusion: The summons for income-tax documents was without jurisdiction and the assessee's challenge succeeded.

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