Home Case Index All Cases Income Tax Income Tax + HC Income Tax - 2012 (9) TMI HC This
Forgot password New User/ Regiser ⇒ Register to get Live Demo
2012 (9) TMI 840 - HC - Income TaxPendency of assessment proceedings - Application before Settlement Commission accepted - assessment years 2005-06 to 2008-09 - revenue petition challenging the order of Settlement Commission - Held that:- As with effect from 1.6.2007, significant changes were made in the definition of the term "case" defined under section 245A(b) defining the term "case" would cover only those situations where an assessment is pending before the AO or it is still possible for him to pass any order of assessment. Accepting the proposition that even where by efflux of time, it is not open for the Assessing Officer to pass an order of assessment, merely because the return was accepted under section 143(1), the case of the assessee should be deemed to be pending for assessment only because the final order of assessment under section 143(3) was not passed, would run counter to the statutory amendments made in section 245A(b) - In the present case, the facts are not in dispute at all. For the assessment years 2005-06 to 2008-09, assessments had become time barred without any notice under section 143(2). Even final time limit for passing the orders even if such notices were issued had expired by the time the assessee filed his application for settlement before the Commission. The assessee's application qua these years, therefore, was not maintainable, ought not to have been accepted. Thus, the Settlement Commission erred in holding to the contrary in the impugned order. The impugned order to such an extent is, therefore, set aside - Request of the assessee that the material disclosed along with the settlement application should not be used in the normal assessments, cannot be accepted without full examination of such a request - petition allowed - in favour of revenue.
|