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2016 (9) TMI 555 - ORISSA HIGH COURTPetition challenging the order of the Commission under the writ jurisdiction - settlement commission - whether the impugned order passed by the Commission has reached its finality? - Held that:- We are convinced that the Commission, after giving appropriate opportunity to the applicant and after going through the report of the Principal Commissioner/Commissioner made under Rule-9, has passed the order under Section 245D of the Act. Section 245D(3) of the Act has empowered the Commission to make inquiry/investigation further to find out the additional income. Commission has got the power to compute the aggregate income of the assessee by adding the additional income to determine the liability of the assessee towards tax, penalty and interest and also the Commission under Section 245F(I) of the Act has all the powers vested in the Income Tax Authority under the Act. So the allegation of the petitioner that the Commissioner made additional income of approximately ₹ 110 crores added finding thereby that there is no true and full disclosure income is untenable because the Commission has got not only power to decide the lis before them but also to find out if at all any income left out or could not be disclosed by the assessee to come to a mechanism of settlement. The settlement of lis is not only covered by the dispute arose before them but also for the dispute yet to come. So the Commission has got wide power to consider the income disclosed, add additional income after due investigation and also to add any income which is found to be valid as per report under Rule-9 submitted by the Department and finally settle the tax payable by the assessee. Where there is a term of settlement including demand by way of tax, penalty or interest and such payment has been made, but subsequently found by the Settlement Commission that it has been obtained by fraud and misrepresentation, the Commission has power to declare the said settlement as void. When the order of the Commission has been communicated to the Department, the Department could have agitated before the Commission to declare the same as void but instead as appears from the arguments of both sides that in terms of the settlement, the Assessing Officer has been directed to compute the tax as per law and charge the interest as directed at Para-7 of the report of the Commission and the applicant seeks direction to make payment and in fact it is admitted by the assessee that they have paid the tax as per terms of settlement. From the aforesaid provisions under Section 6 of the Act, while passing the order under Sub-section-4, the Commission can pass the order for settlement including the terms with regard to tax, penalty or interest to be paid under the settlement and in that order, it must be also maintained that if subsequently it is found by the Settlement Commission that the order has been obtained by fraud or misrepresentation, the Commission has the power to declare the settlement void. Where the settlement is found to be void as per sub-section 6 of the Act, all the proceedings would be heard de novo and the Commission has to complete the proceedings within a period of two years from the date of the final order in which the settlement became void. In the instant case, when the tax under Sub-section-6A of the Act has been paid by the assessee as per the demand by the Assessing Officer in consequence of the order of the Commission, it appears that the Commission has not found the order void obtained by fraud or misrepresentation. By reading the provision of Sub-section 6, 6A, 6B and 7, we are of the view that the Commission has got statutory power to implement, vary, modify and rectify its own order. So the Settlement Commission is self-regulatory body having all powers of adjudication and conciliation. Thus to concluded Commission has passed the order which has become conclusive and reached its finality and the same has already been implemented by collecting tax from the assessee-opposite parties 2 to 6 and the writ jurisdiction is not maintainable in view of the reasons as stated above
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