TMI Blog1997 (7) TMI 107X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... e full details including challans were produced by the assessee, not at the very first level of assessment, but only ultimately before the Tribunal. This again is not disputed. But that the challans were produced before the Tribunal is also not a point in dispute. In the statement of case forwarded to us by the Tribunal, they have included those challans showing the details of the items sold. The questions were as follows : " (i) Whether, on the facts and in the circumstances of the case, the Tribunal has misdirected itself in considering the sale bills only without the corresponding letter/challans of the silver utensils sold wherein the details were mentioned resulting in the miscarriage of justice ? (ii) Whether, on the facts and i ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ation, or fail unreasonably to consider material documents which, if considered, could not but have materially affected the Tribunal's decision. In support of this proposition, Mr. Bajoria first referred us to the three-member Bench decision of the Supreme Court in the case of Omar Salay Mohamed Sait v. CIT [1959] 37 ITR 151 ; AIR 1959 SC 1238. In paragraph 29, of the judgment, the Supreme Court opined that in that case their Lordships would have to determine whether the finding of fact reached by the Appellate Tribunal was vitiated inas much as it was unsupported by evidence or was unreasonable and per verse in nature having been arrived at by improper rejection of evidence available. Again at paragraph 42, the court opined that the co ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ms sold so as to total up to the weight of 51 kg. of silver. Had these details been considered, which contained all particulars of the persons to whom the items were sold and also their addresses, the sale of the utensils would have been a matter beyond dispute before any reasonable authority. No rejection of the assessee's case would, in that event, even be possible, because of any suspicion harboured in the mind of the authority, that the weight of the silver being 51 kg., it was not composed of utensils but was composed of some other items which were not personal effects. Suspicion and conjecture have no role to play in this regard and that the utensils were sold could not but have been held by the Tribunal and this finding could not b ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... the items are none other than silver utensils. The next case is a judgment of an hon'ble single judge of the Bombay High Court (now in the hon'ble Supreme Court) given in the case of Jayantilal A. Shah v. K. N. Anantharam Aiyar, CIT [1985] 156 ITR 448. It was said there with regard to personal effects that those need not be used daily. It was said that to use daily use as a test would be an incorrect test. It was opined that so long as the effects are meant for personal use these will have to be considered as personal effects. The judgment went even so far as to say that the very fact that furniture is also included in personal effects would show that the articles need not have an intimate connection with the person of the assessee. The ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... . Ramanathan Chettiar v. CIT [1985] 152 ITR 493. It was said on the basis of this case that if the articles are too numerous they might not class as personal effects. In the Madras case, the assessee's petition was dismissed and the claims referred to a large number of items of silver articles as having been held for personal use. The silver articles sold during the year in question were 845 in number. The court opined that it was not possible to treat all those items as having been kept by the assessee for personal use. The assessing authority would have to find out as to what are the articles which could reasonably be held to have been kept by the assessee for personal use. The next case of the Department was H. H. Maharaja Rana Hemant' ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... 2, clause (14) or not. We do not have the benefit of the Tribunal's decision on whether the silver utensils were considered by the Tribunal to be personal effects or not, it not having been first persuaded that the items sold were silver utensils as claimed. Since it shut out relevant material on the proof of the utensils to be such, it created a self-imposed bar in not properly considering whether the silver utensils were personal effects or not. We might mention that whether these items were personal effects or not were matters of discussion before the lower authorities and the assessee did not get a favourable result. The Tribunal found that justified. In giving our opinion on this aspect of the matter, we first note that the plat ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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