TMI Blog1968 (8) TMI 6X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ce of reassessment under section 34 of the Income-tax Act, 1922, reciting that the income of the appellant had escaped assessment and requiring the appellant to submit a return of his total world income assessable for the year ending March 31, 1946. On August 17, 1959, the appellant filed a return for the assessment of his income for the year 1946-47. The appellant was informed by the Income-tax Officer that he was called upon to submit a return of his income for the assessment year 1945-46 and not for the assessment year 1946-47. The appellant on March 22, 1960, filed a fresh return for the assessment year 1945-46, admitting that he had " misunderstood the notice " served upon him. In his return he admitted that he had a third share in a f ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... be for the assessment year 1945-46 and not for 1946-47. By his letter dated March 22, 1960, the appellant admitted that he was called upon to file a return for the assessment year 1945-46 and he had " misunderstood " the notice and had filed a return for the assessment year 1946-47. There was apparently some negligence in drawing up the preamble to the notice, but that does not affect the validity of the notice, for the appellant was clearly informed that he had to file a return for the year ending March 31, 1946. The appellant then contended that, in any event, on August 17, 1959, the appellant had submitted a return for the assessment year 1946-47 and even if no notice for the assessment year 1946-47 calling upon him to submit a return ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... under either of those sub-sections, discovers any omission or wrong statement therein, he may furnish a return or a revised return, as the case may be at any time before the assessment is made. " Section 34 of the Act authorised the Income-tax Officer to serve a notice on the assessee for assessment or reassessment if--(a) the Income-tax Officer had reason to believe that by reason of the omission or failure on the part of an assessee to make a return of his income under section 22 for any year or to disclose fully and truly all material facts necessary for his assessment for that year, income, profits or gains chargeable to income-tax have escaped assessment for that year, or have been under-assessed, or assessed at too low a rate, or h ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... after assessment of income for the year of assessment is completed. Such a voluntary return does not operate as a bar to the Income-tax Officer issuing a notice of reassessment. This court has held in Ranchhoddas's case that where no return has been filed by the assessee within the Period Prescribed by section 22(l) of the Income-tax Act, 1922, the assessee is entitled in law to submit a voluntary return in answer to the general notice under section 22(l) before assessment is completed, for a return in answer to the general notice can under section 22(3) be filed at any time before assessment and for filing such a return there is no limit of time, and when such a voluntary return is filed, the Income-tax Officer cannot ignore that retur ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... 22(3) of the Act, and the Income-tax Officer could not ignore it and issue a notice under section 34 on the assumption that there had been omission or failure by the assessee to make a return of his income under section 22, and on that account the assessment under section 34 was invalid. In that case also no return had been filed by the assessee pursuant to section 22 and no order of assessment of the income of the assessee for the year 1944-45 was recorded. The principle of Ranchhoddas's case and S. Raman Chettiar's case has, in our judgment, no application to cases where a return has been filed by the assessee and assessment made and thereafter apprehending proceedings under section 34 of the Indian Income-tax Act, 1922, the assessee file ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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