TMI Blog1965 (9) TMI 4X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... been issued to him on 24th June, 1959, under section 34 of the Indian Income-tax Act, 1922, for escaped assessment in respect of the assessment year 1946-47, as also for quashing a notice issued on 14th March, 1963, under section 148 of the Income-tax Act, 1961, for assessment under section 147 of the Act for the assessment year 1946-47. The petitioner says that on 24th June, 1959, a notice was issued to him by the Income-tax Officer, Sagar, under section 34 of the old Act for escaped assessment in regard to the assessment year 1946-47 ; that the proceedings on the basis of this notice were pending when the Act of 1961 came into force ; and that during the pendency of these proceedings the Income-tax Officer issued another notice to him ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... or the assessment year 1946-47. That the notice dated 24th June, 1959, was in respect of the assessment year 1945-46 and no notice under section 34 for the assessment year 1946-47 was ever issued to the petitioner while the Act of 1922 was in force is abundantly clear from the record. For the first time, a notice for escaped assessment in regard to the assessment year 1946-47 was issued to the applicant on 14th March, 1963, and that was under section 148 of the new Act. No proceedings under section 34 of the Act of 1922 in regard to the assessment year 1946-47 were thus pending when the Act of 1961 came into force. Now, section 297 which deals with the effect of the repeal of the Indian Income-tax Act, 1922, sets out in clause (d) (ii) of ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... eral Clauses Act, 1897, the assessment for the year 1946-47 could not be reopened under section 147 of the Act of 1961 and no notice could be issued for the purpose under section 148. We are unable to accede to this contention. The firmly established principle is that an amending Act or a new Act repealing an old Act enabling the income-tax department to make an assessment or a reassessment in respect of the years which were over when the amending Act or the new Act came into force should not be construed as authorising action in respect of a year for which action was already time-barred at the time when the amending or the new Act came into force, unless the statute clearly provides to the contrary. In the present case, the assessment unde ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... se decisions, it must be held that section 6 of the General Clauses Act has no applicability, and the present matter is governed fully and only by section 297(2)(d)(ii) of the Act of 1961. The argument that action under section 34(1A) in regard to the assessment year 1946-47 had already become barred by time when the Act of 1961 came into force and, therefore, no proceedings under section 147 could be initiated by a notice under section 148 must also be rejected on the ground that whereas under section 34(1A) proceedings could be initiated if the income, profits or gains which had escaped assessment for any year amounted to, or were likely to amount to, one lakh of rupees or more, under section 149 of the new Act a notice under section 14 ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... e assessment year 1946-47. Merely because he filed a return for the assessment year 1946-47 misunderstanding the notice dated 24th June, 1959, which was in respect of the assessment year 1945-46, it cannot be held that proceedings under section 34 of the Act in regard to the assessment year 1946-47 commenced by the filing of that return. The decision in Commissioner of Income-tax v. S. Raman Chettiar is not in point here. All that was held in that case was that a return filed pursuant to a notice under section 34 of the Act of 1922 which was later on found to be invalid was a return within the meaning of section 22(3) so as to prevent the Income-tax Officer from the issue of a fresh notice under section 34 on the assumption that there had b ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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