1982 (3) TMI 92

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....d by the following observation made by the AAC, while disposing of the appeal for the assessment year 1976-77. "The next contention of the appellant relates to the addition of Rs. 4,644 out of law charges claimed at Rs. 10,285. A sum of Rs. 1,800, which relates to the preceding year, is obviously to be disallowed and with regard to the other item debited in this account, the expenses are vouched and verifiable. The addition in this behalf will, therefore, be limited to Rs. 1,800 only and a reduction of Rs. 2,844 is allowed here.", the assessee moved an application under section 154 of the Act before the ITO, the relevant contents of which read as under--- "We beg to invite your kind attention to para 2 of the appellate order dated ....

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....the assessee had neither claimed deduction of Rs. 1,800 nor had he placed any material on record in this regard. He, however, hastened to state that this fact by itself would not prevent the assessee to request the ITO to pass a suitable order under section 154. 5. The learned representative for the department on the other hand strongly relied on the orders of the income-tax authorities and justified their action. According to him, if the stand taken by the assessee were to be accepted then there would be flood of such applications which was not the intention of the Legislature for making a provision like section 154. He further submitted that the decisions relied on behalf of the assessee have no application to the facts and circumstanc....

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.... of section 35. It is apprehended that if the phrase 'record of the appeal' is widely interpreted so as to cover the records of all collateral proceedings and subsequent events, it would leave the door wide open to endless harassment of assessees ; the income-tax authorities would under the guise of correcting mistakes, lightly reopen assessments long past and closed, and thus introduce an element of disconcerting instability in the administration of the Act. In our opinion, there is no room for any such apprehension. It must be remembered that a decision is a precedent on its own facts. Each case presents its own features. The income-tax authorities and Tribunals are supposed to apply the ratio of a decision to the facts of particular c....