2003 (4) TMI 34 - HC - Income Tax

The law was amended by the Finance (No. 2) Act, 1996, retrospectively, with effect from April 1, 1989, by which the expression not being less than thirty days in section 148(1) stood deleted - Department moved a miscellaneous application before the Tribunal under section 254(2) of the Income-tax Act for rectification of the order passed by the Tribunal on June 26, 1996, on the ground that with the change in law retrospectively from April 1, 1989, the judgment dated June 26, 1996, needed rectification under section 254(2) - miscellaneous applications were dismissed by the Tribunal on the ground that there was no apparent error on record as the amending Act received the assent of the President on September 28, 1996, i.e., after three months, from June 26, 1996, when the appeals were disposed of by the Tribunal Held that miscellaneous application filed by the Department was rightly rejected by the Tribunal

Summary

Issues:
Whether the Finance (No.2) Act, 1996, applied only to pending proceedings or whether it applied even to proceedings which stood completed three months prior to the law being enacted?

Analysis:
The judgment by the Bombay High Court involved two appeals concerning different assessment years but raising a common question of law and fact. The main issue was whether the Finance (No.2) Act, 1996, applied to completed proceedings or only to pending ones. The case revolved around a notice issued under section 148(1) on November 7, 1990, which was challenged as invalid due to a change in the law. The Department argued that the Finance Act validated such notices retrospectively. The Tribunal dismissed the Department's miscellaneous applications seeking rectification based on the amended law.

Arguments:
The Department's counsel contended that the Finance Act aimed to validate notices contrary to section 148(1) when issued. They argued that the retrospective effect of the Act validated the notice issued on November 7, 1990, which was initially deemed invalid. The counsel emphasized that the Tribunal erred in dismissing the miscellaneous applications based on this premise.

Findings:
The Court analyzed the maintainability of the Department's miscellaneous application under section 254(2) of the Income-tax Act. It highlighted the conflicting decisions regarding the validity of notices issued under section 148(1) before the law amendment. The Finance Act, deleting the requirement of a specified period not less than thirty days, received Presidential assent on September 28, 1996. However, the Tribunal's decision on the reassessment proceedings was made on June 26, 1996, before the Act received assent. As such, the Court found no apparent error in the Tribunal's decision and upheld the rejection of the Department's applications.

Conclusion:
The High Court concluded that there was no reason to interfere with the Tribunal's order on the Department's miscellaneous applications. Consequently, both appeals were dismissed with no order as to costs.