1955 (6) TMI 13

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.... Assistant Commissioner ordered a reduction of the tax. Thereupon a fresh notice of demand in respect of the sum to which the tax was reduced was issued on the 14th of October, 1949. The petitioner was still not satisfied and preferred a further appeal to the Tribunal. He was again successful and the tax assessed on him was further reduced. Thereupon, a third notice of demand in respect of the amount to which the tax was finally reduced was issued on the 31st of March, 1952. Thereafter, the Income-tax Officer took action under section 46(2) of the Act and sent a certificate to the Collector. The petitioner raised an objection that the proceedings initiated by such certificate were barred by limitation, inasmuch as according to him, the p....

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....limitation relative to it should not be computed from the last day of the financial year in which it was issued. The real point, however, is whether a second or a third notice of demand is at all permissible under section 29, even when an assessment is altered in a first or a second appeal. It appears to me that the necessity of issuing a fresh notice of demand in such circumstances is beyond argument. Suppose the amount of tax assessed by the Income-tax Officer is Rs. 2,000 and a notice of demand is issued in respect of that amount. If the assessee appeals and the assessment is reduced to say Rs. 1,500, the notice of demand already issued in respect of Rs. 2,000 will clearly cease to be appropriate. Similarly, if the assessee appeals ag....

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....and against the actual necessities of realisation. Mr. Roy contended that although section 46(7) spoke of "any demand" made under the Income-tax Act, it gave no authority to the Income-tax authorities to make successive demands, because were such liberty to be conceded to them, they could save limitation for themselves by issuing fresh notices of demand in respect of the same amount assessed by the same order. It need only be said that such is not the position in the present case. If ever an Income-tax Officer, after having issued a notice of demand in respect of an amount due under his own order or an order of a higher authority, issues a second notice of demand in respect of the same amount due under the same order it will have to be c....