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Challenge to reassessment under section 35 of Madras Plantations Agricultural Income-tax Act, 1955 due to insufficient notice period. Interpretation of section 35 and section 16(2) in relation to notice requirements. Application of precedent from Indian Income-tax Act, 1922. Analysis of the decision in Commissioner of Income-tax v. Ramsukh Motilal [1955] 27 I.T.R. 54. Examination of waiver possibility for defective notice. Detailed Analysis: The judgment involves an application by the Commissioner of Agricultural Income-tax, Kerala, challenging the order of the Agricultural Income-tax Appellate Tribunal related to the reassessment of Amalgamated Coffee Estates Limited for the assessment year 1955-56. The Tribunal set aside the reassessment due to a notice period of only three days, which was deemed insufficient under section 35 of the Act, rendering the reassessment without jurisdiction. The key issue revolved around the interpretation of section 35, which allows for reassessment if agricultural income has escaped assessment or been assessed at too low a rate, within three years of the end of the relevant year. The provision requires a notice period not less than thirty days, as stipulated in section 16(2) for the person to furnish the necessary information. The judgment compared these sections to their counterparts in the Indian Income-tax Act, 1922, citing relevant case law. The decision in Commissioner of Income-tax v. Ramsukh Motilal [1955] 27 I.T.R. 54 was pivotal in the analysis. The judgment highlighted the importance of providing a minimum notice period of thirty days for compliance with any requirement under section 22(2) of the Indian Income-tax Act, 1922. Failure to adhere to this requirement renders the notice defective and the subsequent assessment void. The judgment also addressed the possibility of waiver for a defective notice. While acknowledging differing views on waiver, the court concluded that in this case, there was no evidence to suggest a valid waiver by the assessee. Therefore, the reassessment based on the defective notice was deemed illegal and void. In light of the above analysis, the Tribunal's decision was upheld, and the application was dismissed with costs awarded to the respondent. The judgment emphasized the importance of adhering to statutory notice requirements for reassessment under the Madras Plantations Agricultural Income-tax Act, 1955, to maintain the validity of assessments.
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