1974 (5) TMI 15

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....66, Jaffar Husain attained majority. On July 3, 1966, the constitution of the firm was changed and a new partnership deed was drawn up. Under it the partnership consisted of five partners including the existing three. The reconstituted firm was in due course registered with the Registrar of Companies. For the assessment year 1967-68, the firm filed a return, showing its accounting period from 1st January to June 30, 1966, and that of the reconstituted firm from 1st July, 1966, to 30th June, 1967. It made an application that with effect from 1st July, 1966, the firm has been reconstituted and the reconstituted firm had decided to adopt the period from 1st July to 30th June as its previous year. The old firm had adopted the calendar year as i....

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....lation the assessee had been assessed at a lower income, it was evident that the original assessment order was not prejudicial to the interest of the revenue and hence the Commissioner was not justified in setting it aside. On these findings the order of the Commissioner passed under section 263(1) of the Act was set aside and the original assessment orders were restored. At the instance of the Commissioner, the Tribunal has referred the following questions of law for the opinion of this court: " 1. Whether, on the facts and in the circumstances of the case, the Tribunal was correct in holding that the Income-tax Officer was justified in allowing the change in the previous year of the assessee from the calendar year to the year from 1....

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....ime when the consent ought to be sought on granted. Learned counsel for the revenue suggested that the consent ought to be obtained prior to the filing of the return. We are unable to agree to this construction. The section is clear and authorises the Income-tax Officer to grant his consent to the change of previous year subject to the conditions that he may like to impose. If the legislature heed intended that the consent should be prior to a particular event, either the closing of the books or the filing of the return, then evidently such conditions would have been mentioned in the section. The absence of any condition shows an intention that the consent was not supposed to be granted at any particular stage of the proceedings or before a....