1989 (5) TMI 21

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....t action under section 147(b) has not been validly taken in this case by ignoring the material fact that the Income-tax Officer has recorded proper reasons before initiation of such action ?" The relevant assessment year is 1974-75. The assessee was dealing at that time in Ambassador cars, mini buses, scooters, etc. The original assessment was made under section 143(3) read with section 144B of the Act on August 26, 1977. On January 9/11, 1979, the Income-tax Officer issued a notice under section 148 of the Act to the assessee which was served on January 12, 1979. A return was filed in response to this notice on February 14, 1979, and the assessment order under section 147(b) was passed on July 4, 1980. By this order, the Income-tax Office....

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.... affidavits confirming the fact of deposits having been made by them with the assessee. The Income-tax Officer had considered these deposits as unexplained and made an addition of Rs. 80,000 in the draft assessment order. The Inspecting Assistant Commissioner directed that these deposits could not be taxed in 1975-76 and consequently on January 9, 1979, the Income-tax Officer reopened the assessment for the relevant year under section 147. The assessee's stand was that the reasons recorded on January 9, 1979, before issuing the notice could be "reasons to suspect" that the deposits were not genuine but certainly not "reasons to believe" that the deposits were not genuine. Merely because the registered letters were returned unserved by the....

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....arned Commissioner of Income-tax (Appeals)", which "has not been controverted" by the learned departmental representative, the appeal has to be dismissed. The Revenue then moved under section 256(1) of the Act. The application was rejected as the Tribunal observed that the abovementioned finding of "the Income-tax Appellate Tribunal speaks of the fact that the categorical finding of the learned first appellate authority has not been controverted" by the Revenue. As such, it was of the view that the order of the Tribunal "cannot be said to give rise to a question of law, much less the question suggested by the Revenue". Before us, Mr. Wadera has vehemently urged that the Commissioner of Income-tax (Appeals) has recorded an erroneous findin....