2018 (7) TMI 134 - HC - Income Tax

Assessment u/s 153A - denial of natural justice - Addl./Joint Commissioner while granting an approval u/s.153D of the Act, to an order to be passed u/s.153A of the Act, no opportunity need to be provided to the Appellant - Held that - It is not a case where the Assessee did not have any opportunity of hearing before any of the Authorities to defend his case and some assessment of tax has been made against him fastening the liability of tax against the Assessee. Assessing Authority as well as the two Appellate Authorities who have concurrent powers of assessment as are available with the Assessing Authority, have admittedly heard the Assessee on the merits of the case - no substantial question of law in this regard can be said to be arising on the basis of the office guidelines which are for internal purposes of the Department. They are not even statutory instructions issued u/s. 119 which if beneficial to Assessee have been held to be binding on the Authorities of the Department. The Assessee has also not been able to point out any prejudice caused to him on account of approving Authority not giving him an opportunity of hearing. Claim of deduction u/s. 54B with regard to sale of agricultural land by him - Held that - Authorities below have found against the Assessee that since the land in question situated at Adyar Village, Mangalore, sold by the Assessee in the relevant period was never used as agricultural land, for a period exceeding two years, therefore the Assessee was not entitled to the benefit of deduction u/s. 54B of the Act. For this reason also, the said finding of fact which is upheld by the two Appellate Authorities as well, we are of the opinion that no substantial question of law arises.

Summary

Issues:
1. Approval process under Section 153D of the Income Tax Act
2. Claim of deduction under Section 54B of the Income Tax Act

Analysis:

Issue 1: Approval process under Section 153D of the Income Tax Act
The appeal concerns the correctness of the approval process under Section 153D of the Income Tax Act. The Assessee contended that the Joint Commissioner did not provide an opportunity of hearing before granting approval to the Draft Assessment Order. The Assessee argued that internal guidelines required such an opportunity. However, the Revenue argued that Section 153D does not mandate such a requirement. The High Court held that the internal guidelines cannot bind the approving Authority and that the Assessee was adequately heard by the Assessing Authority and the Appellate Authorities. The Court concluded that no substantial question of law arose in this regard.

Issue 2: Claim of deduction under Section 54B of the Income Tax Act
The second issue involved the Assessee's claim of deduction under Section 54B for the sale of agricultural land. The Authorities found that the land sold was not used for agricultural purposes for more than two years, rendering the Assessee ineligible for the deduction. The Assessing Authority's findings were upheld by the Appellate Authorities. The Court concurred with the lower authorities, stating that the Assessee failed to meet the conditions specified in Section 54B for claiming the exemption. Consequently, the Court held that no substantial question of law arose in this case.

In conclusion, the High Court dismissed the appeal filed by the Assessee, ruling that it lacked merit and ordered no costs to be paid.