Home Case Index All Cases Income Tax Income Tax + AT Income Tax - 2022 (12) TMI AT This
Forgot password New User/ Regiser ⇒ Register to get Live Demo
2022 (12) TMI 1002 - AT - Income TaxRevision u/s 263 - order barred by limitation - Whether date of dispatch be regarded as the date of the order? - HELD THAT:- As per the understanding arrived at with the postal department, a person from the said Department visits the Income-Tax Department on a daily basis for collection of posts, and who again provides a receipt to the despatch clerk in token of his acceptance of the article for post. Needless to add that the said record, evidencing the delivery of the posts to the postal department, which acts as the Revenue’s agent for delivery of it’s communications, etc., and which would be retained only by its’ dispatch section, is not available. The despatch register also does not bear either the date of delivery to the postal department or the receipt number/date per which it stands delivered thereto. Further, it is not shown that all the Dak of 31/3/2015, which ranges from serial no. 5248 to 5301, was dispatched along with, i.e., only on 07/4/2015, several days later, which could be the case if the person from the postal department indeed did not visit the Income-tax department all this while. Further still, i.e., in case of non-visit of the concerned person from the postal department, which would require suitable confirmation in this regard being issued by the postal department, dak of the intervening days, i.e., 01/04/2015 to 07/04/2015, i.e., five working days later, would also have been dispatched on the same day, i.e., 07/4/2015, besides requiring a confirming statement from the head of the despatch section, on which he is liable to be questioned. The deposition of the despatch clerk, who would not be only staff in that section, so that his absence, assuming so, would not stall matters, may be required to clarify matters. On this being asked by the Bench, Shri Gotru was unable to even state the name of the concerned staff/clerk; rather, stating that it would not be possible for him to do so. What, then, one may ask, is the basis to say that the IO was indeed received for despatch on 31/3/2015, the date on which it is entered in the despatch register – a grossly incomplete record, no basis for entry/s in which is shown, with even the identity of the person maintaining the same being conspicuous by its absence, and nothing to exhibit it as an authenticated document, justifying the entries therein. This Bench has recently passed an order in Suresh Kumar Upadhya & Sons [2022 (7) TMI 123 - ITAT JABALPUR] similarly received by the assessee on 13/4/2017, i.e., 13 days later, was not considered by the Bench as liable to be construed as not made on the date of the order, i.e., 31/3/2017. This is as the date of dispatch (07/4/2017) could not by itself be regarded as the date of the order, even as explained in CIT v. Mohammed Meeran Shahul Hameed [2021 (10) TMI 363 - SUPREME COURT] as claimed by the assessee. No other material was brought on record by the assessee, so that the Tribunal held that the presumption of regularity of official acts u/s. 114(e) of the Indian Evidence Act, shall hold. There could be, it explained, several stages before the despatch of an order. We, in view of the foregoing, hold the impugned revision order as not passed on 31/03/2015, so that it is barred by time u/s. 263(2). The same, as well as the ensuing assessment, disputed by the Revenue, accordingly, fail. It is not necessary therefore to travel to the other Grounds of the Assessee’s appeal or that by the Revenue, with, as afore-said, the arguments before us being limited to the status of the revision order as a valid order in law in view of the challenge to it being within the time prescribed by law.
|