TMI Blog1971 (8) TMI 3X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... N. GROVER. JUDGMENT The judgment of the court was delivered by HEGDE J.-- This appeal by certificate arises from the decision of the High Court of Bombay in Misc. Petition No. 104 of 1968 on its file. That was a petition under article 226 of the Constitution. Therein the respondents challenged the validity of the orders of rectification made by the Income-tax Officer, Company Circle, Bombay, in the assessments of the respondents for the assessment years 1958-59, 1960-61, 1961-62 and 1962-63, under section 154 of the Income-tax Act, 1961. Respondents Nos. 2 and 3 are the partners in the first respondent-firm. The first respondent-firm was duly registered under the Indian Income-tax Act, 1922, as well as under the Income-tax Act, ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ere prima facie in accordance with law and at any rate as there was no obvious or patent mistake in those orders of assessment, the Income-tax Officer was incompetent to pass the impugned orders. The first question that we have to decide is whether, on the facts and in the circumstances of the case, the Income-tax Officer was within his powers in making the impugned rectifications. He purported to make those rectifications under section 154 of the Income-tax Act, 1961. That section, to the extent material for our present purpose, reads : " 154. (1) With a view to rectifying any mistake apparent from the record-- (a) the Income-tax Officer may amend any order of assessment or of refund or any other order passed by him : ...... The c ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... the Income-tax Act, 1961 (section 2(31)), the expression "person" is defined differently. That definition reads : " 'Person' includes-- (i) an individual, (ii) a Hindu undivided family, (iii) a company, (iv) a firm, (v) an association of persons or a body of individuals, whether incorporated or not, (iv) a local authority, and (vii) every artificial juridical person, not falling within any of the preceding sub-clauses." It is a matter for consideration whether the definition contained in section 2(31) of the Income-tax Act, 1961, is an amendment of the law or is merely declaratory of the law that was in force earlier. To pronounce upon this question, it may be necessary to examine various provisions in the Act as well a ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... cision on a debatable point of law is not a mistake apparent from the record--see Sidhramappa Andannappa Manvi v. Commissioner of Income-tax. The power of the officers mentioned in section 154 of the Income-tax Act, 1961 to correct " any mistake apparent from the record " is undoubtedly not more than that of the High Court to entertain a writ petition on the basis of an " error apparent on the face of the record. " In this case it is not necessary for us to spell out the distinction between the expressions "error apparent on the face of the record" and "mistake apparent from the record". But suffice it to say that the Income-tax Officer was wholly wrong in holding that there was a mistake apparent from the record of the assessments of the f ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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