2015 (4) TMI 594
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....laring income of Rs. 27,16,848. For Assessment Year 2001-02 the assessee had shown receipts of lease rentals amounting to Rs. 16,31,016. For Assessment Year 2003-04, the assessee had shown receipts of Rs. 1,03,63,744 and Rs. 1,25,806 from lease rentals of office space and fit outs respectively under the head 'Income from Business'. For both these assessment years, the returns of income filed by the assessee were processed but not taken up for scrutiny. Subsequently, for both these assessment years, proceedings under Section 147 of the Income Tax Act, 1961 (herein after referred to as 'the Act') were initiated to bring to tax the income from rental receipts declared by the assessee under the head 'Business Income' for assessment as ' Income from House Property' . After recording reasons to this effect, the Assessing Officer issued notices under Section 148 of the Act to the assessee on 20.3.2008 after obtaining the approval of the Addl. CIT, Range 1, Bangalore vide letter dt.18.3.2008. 2.2 The reasons recorded by the Assessing Officer for initiating proceedings under Section 147 of the Act were communicated to the assessee and the assessee's objections thereto were ma....
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....' as declared by the assessee. 3. Aggrieved by the orders of the CIT (Appeals) - I, Bangalore dt.17.8.2011 for Assessment Year 2001-02 and 2003-04, the assessee has preferred these appeals which will be disposed off in seriatum :- Assessee's appeal in ITA No.944/Bang/2011 for Assessment Year 2001-02. 4.0 For Assessment Year 2001-02, the grounds raised are as under :- "1. The order of the learned authorities below in so far it is against the appellant is opposed to law, equity, weight of evidence, probabilities, facts of and the circumstances in the appellant's case. 2. The order passed by the learned Assessing Officer is bad in law as the mandatory conditions required for assumption of jurisdiction in terms of section 148 of the Act have not been assumed in accordance with law. 3. The order passed without considering the reply of the appellant to the assumption of the jurisdiction is in violation of the principles of natural justice and hence liable to be cancelled in accordance with the decision of the special bench of the Tribunal in the case of colonizers. 4. The order passed under section 144 of the Act is not tenable in law as the appellant had given a....
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....the mandatory conditions required for assumption of jurisdiction in terms of section 148 of the Act have not been assumed in accordance with law. 3. The order passed without considering the reply of the appellant to the assumption of the jurisdiction is in violation of the principles of natural justice and hence liable to be cancelled in accordance with the decision of the special bench of the Tribunal in the case of colonizers. 4. The order passed under section 144 of the Act is not tenable in law as the appellant had given all the details called for and hence the basis for the Assessing Officer passing such an order is not forthcoming and thus the order requires to be cancelled. 5. The order passed by the learned CIT (Appeals) on a wrong appreciation of facts is against the principles of natural justice under the facts and circumstances of the case. 6. The appellant denies itself liable to be taxed on an originally assessed income of Rs. 1,24,58,002 and subsequently rectified under Section 154 of the Act determining the total income at Rs. 1,13,35,883 as against the returned income of Rs. 27,16,848 on the facts and circumstances of the case. 7. The learned authorit....
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.... assessee raised objections with regard to the invoking of the provisions of section 147 of the Act for assuming jurisdiction, submitting that the Assessing Officer has not obtained the approval of the JCIT and has obtained the approval of the CIT, which is not in accordance with law. It was submitted that the approval obtained from the CIT, in the case on hand who has no jurisdiction, is not in accordance with the procedure laid down by law and therefore all the subsequent proceedings get vitiated and are bad in law. The learned Authorised Representative submitted that in view of the above, the orders of assessment for both assessment years ought to be held to be bad in law and cancelled. 7.2 Per contra, the learned Departmental Representative submitted that the procedure as mandated by law has been followed while obtaining approval for initiation of proceedings under Section 147 of the Act. The relevant records of assessment called for by us, were placed before the Bench for examination. The learned Dept. Representative also submitted copies of the relevant order sheet notings for examination and also of the letter dt.13.3.2008 addressed by the Assessing Officer to the Addl. C....
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....om the Addl. CIT as per the requirements of section 151(2) of the Act and that the correct procedure has been followed by the Assessing Officer in initiating and invoking proceedings under Section 147 of the Act. Consequently, the objections raised by the assessee in this regard in Grounds Nos.2 & 3 of these appeals are rejected. 8.1.1 In Grounds Nos.4 to 9, for both A.Ys 2001-02 and 2003-04, the assessee contends that the orders of assessment passed under Section 144 r.w.s. 147 of the Act are not tenable in law as the assessee has given all the details called for. Therefore, the basis for the Assessing Officer to pass such orders is on wrong appreciation of facts and against the principles of natural justice and therefore both the orders of assessment ought to be cancelled. It was further contended that the receipts from lease rentals ought to have been assessed as 'business income' as per the assessee's claim and not as 'income from house property'. It was also contended that the Assessing Officer passed the orders of assessment for the two impugned assessment years without following the observations of the Tribunal in its order in the assessee's own case for Assessmen....
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....02-03 in ITA No.1292/Bang/2007 dt.29.10.2008. We find that in this order (supra), the co-ordinate bench of this Tribunal has set aside the order of assessment for Assessment Year 2002-03 back to the file for fresh consideration and de novo assessment in accordance with the observations made at para 6 thereof. The learned A.R. contends that the Assessing Officer ought to have considered the observations of the Tribunal in its order for Assessment Year 2002-03 (supra) at para 6 thereof, but clearly failed to do so while concluding the assessments for Assessment Years 2001-02 and 2003-04 which were passed subsequently on 29.12.2008 and 30.12.2008. 8.3.2 On a careful consideration of the facts and circumstances of the case and on appreciation of the rival contentions and material on record, we are of the considered view that, in the interest of equity and justice, the matter / issues with respect to whether the lease rental receipts received by the assessee from its tenants is to be treated and assessed as 'business income' as claimed by the assessee or as 'income from house property' as held by revenue, requires fresh consideration in the light of the observations in para 6 of the dec....
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