TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
2006 (6) TMI 74
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....section 148 of the Income-tax Act and the same (satisfaction having been found by the Commissioner of Income-tax (Appeals)) on the perusal of the reasons recorded in the miscellaneous records (vide paragraph 4 of the order of the Commissioner of Income-tax (Appeals)) the Tribunal is right in law and fact in holding that there is nothing on record to show that the Assessing Officer had applied his mind and is not the finding perverse and without application of mind to materials on record? (ii) Whether, on the facts and in the circumstances of the case, the Tribunal is right in law and fact: (i) in interfering with the reassessment; (ii) in holding that the proceedings initiated against the assessee under section 147 are bad in law? (iii) Whether, on the facts and in the circumstances of the case should not the Tribunal have considered the issue of satisfaction and the validity of initiation of reassessment in the light of the reasons recorded prior to initiation of reassessment and is not the approach to the issue of satisfaction based on remarks in the assessment order against law, logic, perverse and vitiated?" We heard senior advocate Sri P.K. Raveendranatha Menon, learned c....
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....39 ITR 380 (MP); Sheo Narain Jaiswal v. ITO [1989] 176 ITR 352 (Patna)). The Assessing Officer had initially completed the assessment on the premise that the assessee was a carrier of 48 gold biscuits in question the value of which was not treated as the income of the assessee. Going by his statement, the gold biscuits really belonged to one V. Ahammed. When there was no failure on the part of the assessee to disclose any material fact original, the assessment cannot be corrected in reassessment proceedings (vide ITO v. Nawab Mir Barkat Ali Khan Bahadur [1974] 97 ITR 239 (SC) and Lokendrasingh v. ITO [1981] 128 ITR 450 (MP)). It was on the direction of the Commissioner of Income-tax that the Deputy Commissioner changed his opinion to hold the view that the sum of Rs. 26,46,000 invested for purchasing the gold biscuits had escaped assessment for the assessment year 1998-99. There cannot be any reopening of assessment for the mere reason that the Assessing Officer had subsequently changed his opinion (vide Sita World Travels (India) Ltd. v. CIT [2005] 274 ITR 186 (Delhi)). The order of the Tribunal does not call for any interference and may be confirmed. However, the dismissal by the....
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....ction 148 of the Act after recording his reasons for the same. The text of the letter reads as follows: "Copies of the judgment of the Additional Sessions Judge, Thiruvananthapuram, and other relevant documents are enclosed herewith. As per the judgment referred to above, gold biscuits weighing 5.597 kg were ordered to be handed over to the Income-tax Department and the same were taken possession of by the Income-tax Officer (CIB) on 7-5-2003, and deposited with the Reserve Bank of India, Thiruvananthapuram, for safe custody. The Assessing Officer is hereby directed to initiated income-tax proceedings by issue of notice under section 148 after recording his reasons for the same. The gold biscuits were seized by police on 26-4-1997, from Abdul Khader. So, section 148 proceedings are to be initiated with respect to that date. The Assessing Officer is to comply with all the requirements of law while initiating action. The assessment may be completed as early as possible." On receipt of annexure F letter the Deputy Commissioner after verifying the records recorded the following reasons (annexure E) in support of his belief that the income had escaped assessment. "Reasons for the be....
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.... grounds Nos. 1 and 3. The Tribunal accordingly dismissed as not pressed grounds Nos. 2, 4 and 5. It is pertinent to note that it is not counsel who appeared for the assessee before the Tribunal below who has chosen to dispute the statement in the order. It is a different counsel who has now come out with a denial and that too by means of a verified petition. That is clearly not permissible. Even if a wrong record has been made in the order as to what transpired before the court or Tribunal the remedy of the aggrieved party is not to dispute the record before a higher forum but to seek a review before the lower forum itself. The judge's record is conclusive and neither the lawyer nor the litigant is entitled to contradict it except before the judge himself and nowhere else. It is not open to the assessee to dispute before us the correctness of the above observation in the order of the Tribunal. The question as to what transpired before a court or Tribunal, it can be gathered from the proceedings or order of the Tribunal, then no party will ordinarily be permitted to take exception to or contradict the statement to that effect in the order. What has been stated in the order should b....
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....he facts and circumstances of the case, we have no hesitation to conclude that annexure F letter has only alerted the Assessing Officer of his statutory obligation in the light of the subsequent turn of events culminating in the gold biscuits seized from the assessee having been entrusted with the Income-tax Department. The pendency of the criminal proceedings and the ultimate order passed by the sessions court, etc., were not within the knowledge of the Assessing Officer. Those supervening events were conveyed to the Assessing Officer by the Commissioner at whose level the litigations were conducted. Reminding an officer of his statutory duty and directing him to proceed in accordance to law after arriving at the requisite satisfaction under the statute cannot amount to a dictation to act in a particular way. The officer to whom such a reminder is given also cannot be said to abdicate his function if he proceeds according to law uninfluenced by any direction from his superior. If the direction by the Commissioner was to reopen the assessment under section 147 of the Act by bypassing the statutory formalities, that would have probably amounted to dictating his subordinate to act in....