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Issues involved: The High Court of Madhya Pradesh was asked to provide its opinion on three questions referred by the Income-tax Appellate Tribunal: 1) Jurisdiction of the Tribunal in entertaining appeals, 2) Validity of fresh inquiry into assessment without service of notices under section 143(2), and 3) Correctness of directing refund of taxes without any claim by the assessees or lower authorities.
Jurisdiction of Tribunal: The Tribunal was found to have overstepped its jurisdiction under section 254(1) by entertaining the appeal, as the order of the Appellate Assistant Commissioner had already allowed the appeal in its entirety, making the assessees not "aggrieved" within the meaning of section 253 of the Income-tax Act. The Tribunal's decision to hear the appeal was deemed unjustified based on the facts and circumstances of the case. Validity of Fresh Inquiry: The Tribunal was deemed unjustified in conducting a fresh inquiry into the completed assessment without the service of notices under section 143(2), especially since this issue did not arise from the Appellate Assistant Commissioner's order. The Tribunal's decision to re-examine the assessment process was found to be legally incorrect. Refund of Taxes: The Tribunal's direction to refund taxes already paid to the assessees was considered legally incorrect, as there was no claim made by the assessees or any order on the point by the lower authorities. The Tribunal's decision to order the refund in the absence of proper grounds was deemed inappropriate based on the facts and circumstances of the case. Conclusion: The High Court answered all three questions posed by the Tribunal, highlighting the Tribunal's jurisdictional error, unjustified fresh inquiry into assessment, and incorrect direction for tax refund. The Court did not award costs in the case.
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