TMI Blog1997 (9) TMI 13X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... the Act. The initial orders of assessment were made on August 13, 1984, assessing the petitioner to tax in the sum of Rs. 2,152.60 and Rs. 3,689.50 for the years 1982-83 and 1983-84, respectively. Almost a year later, but well within the period of limitation prescribed under section 35 of the Act, which empowers the Assessing Officer to reopen the assessment in order, inter alia, to include any income escaping the assessment, the Assessing Officer issued a notice to the petitioner on February 15, 1985, which was received by the assessee on February 21, 1985. The assessee undertook to produce certain accounts required for the Assessing Officer, by March 26, 1985, but he did not do so. A reminder was sent to the assessee on July 24, 1985, w ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... of that nature was a prerequisite under section 4(b) for grant of exemption to an institution with charitable objects having agricultural income therefore the assessee was not entitled to have its income exempted. Learned counsel for the assessee contended that the Commissioner has erred in recording these findings and, therefore, that order should be set aside. It is not possible for us to grant any relief to the petitioner even if we assume for a moment that both the grounds urged by the assessee before the Commissioner have been decided erroneously. The present revision petitions which have been filed under section 54 of the Act have to be dismissed as not maintainable, as, by the impugned order of the Commissioner, the assessee's ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... or having an illegal assessment set aside or corrected in appeal. The Privy Council also considered section 33 along with section 66(2) of the Indian Income-tax Act, 1922, and held that a reference under the latter section could not be made in respect of an order made by the Commissioner which merely rejected the petition of the assessee to interfere with the order of assessment. The court concluded by stating that "....a reference does not lie from an order under section 33 unless that order is prejudicial to the assessee in the sense that he is in a worse position than before the order was made." In the course of the judgment, the Privy Council observed that the Income-tax Act, exhaustively defined the obligations and remedies of the ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... case [1939] 7 ITR 263, was no longer good law. That decision of the Full Bench in N. N. Seshadrinathan v. State of Madras [1966] 60 ITR 482 (Mad) has been followed by the Division Benches of this court one such instance being in the case of M. V. S. Kathirvelu Nadar v. CAIT [1968] 68 ITR 786. The basis for the decision of the Full Bench and of the Division Bench which have followed the decision of the Full Bench is the decision of the Privy Council in the case of Tribune Trust [1948] 16 ITR 214. The statutory provision considered therein is not strictly in pari materia with section 34 of the Tamil Nadu Act. While section 33 of the Indian Income-tax Act, 1922, did not confer in express terms, a right on the assessee to invoke the revisi ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... viso to section 34(1) to be an order which shall not be deemed to be an order prejudicial to the assessee. Having regard to the express language used in these two sections the legislative intent is manifest that a revision under section 54 at the instance of the assessee against the order of the Commissioner rejecting the assessee's revision, is not maintainable and it cannot be entertained. We are in agreement with the view expressed by the Full Bench of the Kerala High Court in the case of Jacob v. Deputy CAIT (Addl.) [1986] 158 ITR 596, that it is only when the assessee is able to plead and prove that prejudice has been caused otherwise than by mere rejection of his revision petition by the Commissioner that the assessee can invoke sec ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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