1986 (7) TMI 81 - HC - Income Tax

Summary

Issues:
1. Validity of notice under section 148 calling for returns in a different status than previously assessed.
2. Validity of assessments made under section 144 for non-compliance with notice under section 148.

Detailed Analysis:
Issue 1: The first issue pertains to the validity of a notice issued under section 148 by the Income-tax Officer calling for returns in the status of an "individual" when the assessee had previously filed returns as a "Hindu undivided family." The court noted that the assessee had been consistently assessed as an individual until claiming the status of a Hindu undivided family in a subsequent year. The Income-tax Officer issued notices under section 148 for the years when the assessee filed returns as a Hindu undivided family, to which there was no response. The court held that the Income-tax Officer was justified in issuing the notice under section 148 as the assessee had not filed returns in the individual status as previously assessed. The court referenced a Supreme Court decision to support the conclusion that the Income-tax Officer was not obligated to consider the return filed in a different status when issuing the notice.

Issue 2: The second issue concerns the validity of assessments made under section 144 due to non-compliance with the notice under section 148. The court determined that since the assessee did not respond to the notice issued under section 148 and did not file returns in the individual status as requested, the Income-tax Officer was justified in making assessments under section 147 read with section 144. The court referred to a Supreme Court decision to emphasize that when a notice is wrongly issued in a different status, assessments made based on returns filed in that status are invalid in law. Therefore, the court answered both questions in the negative and in favor of the Revenue, upholding the validity of the assessments made under section 144 for non-compliance with the notice under section 148.