TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
1998 (9) TMI 75
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....he facts leading to the controversy lie in a narrow compass. Appellant No. 2 initiated reassessment proceedings against the respondent and put her on notice for the assessment year 1981-91 (sic) in exercise of power under section 17. He thereafter referred the matter to appellant No. 3 for valuation of the property in question. Pursuant thereto this appellant issued notice to the respondent under section 16A(1). The respondent felt aggrieved by the two notices and filed writ petitions assessment year wise calling in question these notices but limiting the attack only to the notice issued by the Valuation Officer (appellant No. 3). Her case was that both the references and consequential notices were illegal and incompetent because such a ....
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....sment also in terms of section 2(cb), reference to the Valuation Officer was valid. He also pointed out that the writ court had placed wrong reliance on the Division Bench judgment of this court in Onkarji's case [1982] 135 ITR 188 and a single Bench judgment of the Karnataka High Court in K. M. Ramdas's case [1987] 166 ITR 706. Mr. Bagadia, for the assessee, on the other hand, dwelt on the scheme of the Act to contend that reference to the 'Valuation Officer was provided under section 16A(1) and once assessment was closed under sub-section (3) of section 16, no further reference could be made, because resort to multiple references vis-a-vis the same cut-off date could breed conflicting estimates, besides causing prejudice and harassment....
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....rent situations but it would be unnecessary to dilate on these for purposes of the present controversy. At this stage, it would be advantageous to extract the relevant portions of sections 16A and 17 of the Act which are reproduced hereunder : "16A. (1) For the purpose of making an assessment (including an assessment in respect of any assessment year commencing before the date of coming into force of this section) under this Act, where under the provisions of section 7 read with the rules made under this Act or, as the case may be, the rules in Schedule III, the market value of any asset is to be taken into account in such assessment, the Assessing Officer may refer the valuation of any asset to a Valuation Officer---... (3) Where ....
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....caped assessment and which comes to his notice subsequently in the course of the proceedings under this section for the assessment year concerned (hereafter in this section referred to as the relevant assessment year), and the provisions of this Act shall, so far as may be, apply as if the return were a return required to be furnished under section 14 :" A combined reading of the sections under Chapters IV and V shows that section 16A is a general provision. It is neither aligned with nor linked to section 16 which empowers the Assessing Officer to make assessment or section 17 under which he assesses and reassesses the chargeable net wealth that had escaped assessment. Section 16A, as would be evident from its terms is an enabling pr....
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....assess such net wealth of the assessee which had escaped assessment. Therefore, if the Assessing Officer needed the assistance and service of the Valuation Officer in this also, nothing debarred him from referring the valuation of any asset to him because he was again engaged in the same exercise of making an assessment under the Act and its section 17 also. Mr. Bagadia's concern about multiplicity of such references and likelihood of their adverse fallout was more imaginary than anything else. It was not that the Assessing Officer would embark on a reference spree on the drop of a hat. His option to resort to it was circumscribed by the conditions laid down in the provision. He was not free to go for it at his whim. He was under a statu....