2012 (6) TMI 136
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....d eight appeals which relate to six assessment years, 1999-2000, 2000-01, 2001-02, 2002-03, 2003-04 and 2004-05. For all the above six assessment years, the assessee doctor has filed appeals arising out of the income escaping assessment complete under sec.143(3) read with sec.147. The assessee has also filed appeals for two assessment yeas 2000-01 and 2003-04 which arise out of the assessments completed in pursuance of the revision order passed by the Commissioner of Income-tax. It is how, there are eight appeals for six assessment years. 3. In the case of Smt. M. Maheswari, there are seven appeals relating to seven consecutive assessment years from 1999-2000 to 2005-06. These seven appeals arise out of the income escaping assessments comp....
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....ted by her for personal and family expenses. In fact, the only addition made for the assessment year 2005-06 is the deficiency in the drawings. 7. In the facts and circumstances of the case, stated above, the assessees have raised common grounds in all these appeals. Apart from the grounds raised against the merit of the additions made by the assessing authority and sustained by the Commissioner of Income-tax(Appeals), the assessees have raised a legal ground challenging the validity of reopening of the assessments itself. 8. The learned counsel appearing for the assessees contended that the grounds for reopening the concluded assessments were made out by the assessing authority on the basis of sworn statements furnished by the assessees ....
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....ments were concluded. It is in the light of the details collected in the course of survey carried out under sec.133A that the Assessing Officer has got the ground clearance to form and to make out a reason that the incomes have escaped assessments in the hands of these two assessees. As a matter of fact, other than the survey under sec.133A and the statements obtained in the course of that survey, nothing else is available on record to proceed against the assessees under sec.147 of the Act. Therefore, it is very necessary on our part to examine the probative value of the materials collected in the course of survey. 11. The Hon'ble Kerala High Court had an occasion to examine this crucial issue in the case of Paul Mathews & Sons (supra). Af....
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....on oath and any statement made by such person during such examination can also be used in evidence under the Act. On the other hand, whatever statement is recorded under sec.133A is not given any evidentiary value obviously for the reason that the officer is not authorised to administer oath and to take any sworn statement which alone as evidentiary value as contemplated under law ; (iii) The material or information found in the course of survey proceeding could not be a basis for making any addition in the block assessment ; (iv) The materials collected during the course of survey under sec.133A shall not have any evidentiary value." 13. The Income-tax Appellate Tribunal, Ahmedabad Bench in the case of Ashok Manilal Thakkar ....