TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
2009 (7) TMI 93
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.... 2. The appellant in W. A. No. 970 of 2001, viz., M/s. Canara Jewellers is a partnership firm. It is an individual assessee of income-tax. The appellant in W. A. No. 971 of 2001, viz., Sri Yogesh Achar, is the partner of the firm and he is also an individual income-tax assessee. Both the appellants were assessed by the Assessing Officer for the assessment years 1991-92, 1992-93 and 1993-94. The Assessing Officer subsequently reopened the assessment of the firm with regard to the assessment year 1991-92 so as to bring for assessment the value of the undisclosed stock of gold, etc. During the course of the assessment proceeding for the assessment year 1992-93, the Assessing Officer found from the ornaments register that the opening balance o....
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.... to approach the Settlement Commission is entirely that of the assessee, he being under no compulsion whatsoever to approach the Commission. Having sought the order of the Commission, it was not open to the assessee to wriggle out of that order by saying that the Commission ought not have determined the income at a figure higher than the one that had been offered by the assessee. The court further observed that the fact that the assessee had disclosed a lesser income does not imply that it is the ceiling up to which the Commission could go while determining the taxable income for the relevant years. 3. At the outset, learned senior counsel appearing on behalf of the appellants M/s. Canara Jewellers stated that the income assessed by the ....
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....s to be determined is, whether the Settlement Commission had the jurisdiction under section 243C of the Income-tax Act to compute the income of the assessees on the basis of the report and records available, if the said Commission otherwise does not agree with the income shown by the assessees as full and true disclosure of their income. 7. The provisions for settlement of cases are prescribed under Chapter XIX-A of the Income-tax Act, 1961. Under section 245C thereof, an assessee may, at any stage of the case relating to him, make an application, for settlement of cases, containing a full and true disclosure of his income which has not been disclosed before the Assessing Officer. The procedure to be followed on receipt of such applicati....
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....ttlement of applicant's income-tax case, there should be disclosure of income not earlier disclosed before the Assessing Officer. if the Assessing Officer or the income-tax authority has already discovered it and either has gathered the material to establish the particulars of such income or fraud fully or is at a stage of investigation/enquiries, then the disclosure cannot be said to be voluntary or in good faith and the assessee cannot be allowed to take advantage of the comparatively easy course of settlement. The scope of section 245C of the Income-tax Act, 1961, was also noticed by this court in ACE Investments Ltd. v. Settlement Commission [2003] 264 ITR 571, wherein a learned single judge of this court held that full and true disclos....
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....27 1993-94 8,350 16,06,100 37,00,000 Sri Yogesh Achar (appellant in W. A. No. 971 of 2001) Assessment year Income assessed by the Assessing Officer Income shown as full and true disclosure under section 245C Income assessed by the Settlement Commission under the impugned order 1992-93 14,35,530 4,00,161 11,13,124 1993-94 68,215 4,78,149 14,12,000 10. In paragraph 15 of the impugned order, the Settlement Commission has observed that considering the co-operation extended by the applicants in the completion of the present settlement proceedings and the full and true disclosure made, the Commission granted immunity under section 245H(1) from imposition of penalty and prosecution under the In....