TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
1982 (5) TMI 9
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....bsp; 1,400 ------ 34,563 Less : LIP rebate 725 ------ ....
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.... under the head " Other sources " and income from salary. It may be noted that the basis for estimating these incomes was the assessment order for the immediately preceding year, that is 1969-70. The assessee brought it to the notice of the Tribunal that for that year, the assessment order had been set aside in appeal by the AAC and the case had been remanded to the ITO for making the assessment afresh and that being so that order could not be treated as a basis for estimating the income for the year under consideration. Apart from this, in regard to income from money-lending business, it was urged that the money that the assessee had invested in the money-lending business had been withdrawn by him in the relevant previous year and had been utilized to a large extent in starting a new cold storage at Cannon and, therefore, there was no income from that business. For the assessment years 1969-70 and 1970-71, this fact had been accepted by the ITO. The Appellate Tribunal does not appear to have passed any definite order in regard to the admission of this fresh evidence. It, however, took the view that the assessee could not question the validity of the ex parte assessment and all tha....
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.... the Act before the Tribunal. It was stated in that application that the Tribunal had omitted to consider certain facts which had been brought to its notice at the time of hearing of the appeal and thus a mistake apparent from the record had crept in its order. The Tribunal rejected this application by its order dated October 29, 1977. In its opinion no mistake as alleged existed in its order and as such the application was not maintainable. It was submitted before us on behalf of the assessee by his learned counsel, Sri R. K. Gulati, that the view taken by the Appellate Tribunal in regard to the scope of its powers tinder s. 254(1) was erroneous. After hearing counsel for parties, we find merit in this submission. Under s. 254(1), the Tribunal may, after giving both the parties to the appeal an opportunity of being heard, pass such orders thereon as it thinks fit. It would be seen that the powers of the Tribunal in dealing with appeals are expressed in the widest possible terms and are similar to the powers of an appellate court under the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908. Now, when an assessment is made under s. 144 of the Act, two remedies are open to the assessee. He may file....
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....duced by the assessees. Under section 23(4) the assessment is according to the judgment of the Income-tax Officer, and even though books of account may be looked at by him under the direction of the Appellate Assistant Commissioner, they would be looked at for an entirely different purpose from the purpose for which he would look at them if he was proceeding to assess the assessees under section 23(3). Therefore, if the Appellate Assistant Commissioner directed the Income-tax Officer to look at the books of account, it could only be for the purpose of arriving at his best judgment. It is true that the further inquiry contemplated by section 31(2) must be an inquiry for the purposes of disposing of the appeal, and the question in appeal before the Appellate Assistant Commissioner must be whether the judgment of the Income-tax Officer was properly exercised under section 23(4) and whether the quantum arrived at by the Income-tax Officer was properly and fairly arrived at. But can it be said that under no circumstances is the Appellate Assistant Commissioner permitted to direct the Income-tax Officer to look at the books of account, which books have not been and cannot be produced for....