TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
2003 (3) TMI 51
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....ment years concerned in the second batch of cases are 1980-81 to 1985-86. Though the assessees in both these batch of cases are different (in the sense that the assessee in the first batch of cases is the mother of the appellant in the second batch of cases, who also represents the estate of the deceased mother), the question arising for consideration in all these cases is one and the same, that is, as to whether the Income-tax Appellate Tribunal while deciding the appeals filed by them was justified in issuing directions which, according to the assessee, are beyond the scope of the appeals. The brief facts necessary for the disposal of these appeals are as follows. The appellant in W.T.A. No. 1 of 2003 was the owner of a rubber estate kno....
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.... Officer thereafter completed the revised assessments on the basis of the award passed by this court. According to the appellants, the said assessment orders were barred by limitation, that therefore they filed appeals against the assessment orders before the Commissioner of Income-tax (Appeals). The said authority upheld the validity of the revised assessment orders. However, the Tribunal, in further appeal by the appellants, held that the assessments are barred by limitation. The Department has not filed any appeal against the order of the Tribunal holding that the assessments are barred by limitation. The appellants are also not aggrieved by the order of the Tribunal in that regard. The only grievance of the appellants which is the subj....
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....rection in the nature specified in paragraph 4 of the appellate order regarding the refund of the tax paid is not contemplated within the said jurisdiction. Sri P.K.R. Menon, senior Central Government standing counsel for taxes, appearing for the respondent, submits that the powers conferred on the Tribunal under section 24(5) of the Act are much more wider than the powers conferred on the Tribunal under the provisions of the Income-tax Act, and that the powers of the Tribunal under the Act are much wider and are co-extensive with those of the Assessing Officer also. Section 24(5) of the Act confers power on the Tribunal to enhance the tax in appropriate cases. Thus, senior standing counsel further submits that the powers to issue directio....
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....epartmental Representative contended before the Tribunal while considering the question of validity of the reassessment orders that even assuming that the assessments are held to be bad, still the assessee is not entitled to get refund of the amount paid pursuant to the voluntary return, based on certain decisions of other High Courts. No doubt, that was not a relevant aspect so far as the issue regarding the validity of the reassessment orders. In such circumstances, ordinarily, the Tribunal should not have entertained such arguments and when the Tribunal holds that the assessments are barred by limitation, it should have relegated all other questions to the Assessing Officer concerned. Now, the only point to be considered is as to whether....
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.... a case, where the Tribunal wants to enhance the assessment, necessarily, it has to comply with the provisions of the proviso to the said sub-section which clearly provides that no order enhancing an assessment or penalty shall be made unless the person affected thereby has been given a reasonable opportunity of showing cause against such enhancement. In the instant case, admittedly, it was only a contention taken by the Departmental Representative based on certain decisions of other High Courts, which was straightaway accepted by the Tribunal. In other words, the assessee did not get an opportunity to have their say before the Tribunal in the matter. In these circumstances, it is unnecessary for us to go into the question as to whether the....