TMI Blog1998 (4) TMI 96X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ection 263 of the Income-tax Act, 1961 ? (2) Whether, on the facts and in the circumstances of the case, the Appellate Tribunal had valid materials to hold that the annual value of house properties admitted by the assessee represented the market value of the rent that the property would fetch and hence there was no case for interference by the Commissioner by passing an order under section 263 of the Income-tax Act directing the Income-tax Officer to recompute the annual value of the house properties as provided under section 23(1) of the Income-tax Act ?" The assessee is a company in which the public are not substantially interested. We are concerned with two assessment years, i.e., 1977-78 and 1978-79. The assessee is the owner of two ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... een taken at Rs. 6,000 and Rs. 15,000, respectively, without any disturbance. The Commissioner of Income-tax, on a perusal of the order of the Income-tax Officer, was of the prima facie opinion that the annual letting value determined at Rs. 6,000 and Rs. 15,000 in respect of these two properties, without any change from the year 1972-73 was erroneous and prejudicial to the interests of the Revenue. He noticed the physical features of the properties and the extent of the land and came to the conclusion that the monthly rent at Rs. 500 and Rs. 1,250 for the two buildings was abysmally low and the rental worked out to only 16 paise per square foot. The Commissioner felt that there was a steep increase in the rentals of the residential propert ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... nd it cannot be assumed that fact has been overlooked by the Income-tax Officer. The Tribunal further held that the question whether there was a general increase in the rental value of the Adyar property or Alwarpet property between the years 1972 and 1979 and the question as to what is the extent of the increase and whether it will affect the building in question would be a matter of judicial notice and there is evidence to show that there was an actual increase in the rental value of the properties. Therefore, the Tribunal came to the conclusion that the Commissioner of Income-tax has not exercised his power of revision under section 263 properly and there is no ground for the Commissioner to direct the Income-tax Officer to review the ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... litude and the Commissioner on materials came to the conclusion that the annual value determined was erroneous and prejudicial to the interests of the Revenue. We have seen the facts of the case. It is no doubt true that the value of the property was determined for 1972-73 and the same value was adopted for the assessment years in question. The Commissioner no doubt noticed the area of the building and the extent of the land occupied by the tenant, but there was no investigation or enquiry by him whether there was any actual increase in the rental value of the property and if so what is the extent of increase in the rental value of the properties. The Commissioner, on the basis of his own assumption that there was general increase in the ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... Income-tax Officer had completed the assessment after making due enquiry and after grant of certain deductions. The Commissioner has not indicated that there is any error in law in determination of the annual rental value of the property. He has also not indicated anywhere in his order that there is any error of law in determination of the rental value of the properties. In the absence of any material, the Commissioner has exercised his power of revision and set aside the order of the Income-tax Officer and directed him to make further investigation in the matter and determine the annual rental value of the properties. The Income-tax Officer, in the present case, has taken the actual rent received from the two properties and has determined ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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