The assessing officer should maintain a register in the enclosed form. - Income Tax - 453/CBDT

INSTRUCTION NO. 453/CBDT Dated: September 13, 1972 Section(s) Referred: 143(3) Statute: Income - Tax Act, 1961 Reference is invited to the Board's Instruction No. 289 (F. No. 385/32/71-ITB) dated 30-4-1971 and so say that the above noted criteria were laid down in para 5 of that instruction. A general reference to 1 to 2 per cent summary assessments for selective scrutiny vide Member Shri H. A. Shah's Circular D.O. letter No. 403/37/72-ITCC dated 11-7-72, to Commissioners has to be read in the context of the aforesaid detailed criteria which are to be followed. 2. The following further elucidations regarding the above noted criteria are offered. (i) The limit of Rs. 50,000/- mentioned in sub-para (i) of para 5 of Instruction No. 289 dated 30-4-71 may be treated as covering other charges also where the Commissioners acting according to para 2(i) of the Board's Instruction No. 426 (F. No. 233/1/72-A PAC) dated 14-6-72 have prescribed this as ceiling limit for summary assessments. (ii) In sub-para (ii) of para 5 of the Board's Instruction dated 30-4-1971 trades like dealing in steel and steel products (including re-rolling mills), textiles and food grains were mentioned. Trades dealing in sugar and paper may also be added to this list. The Commissioners may specify cases in these and such other trades or professions as they consider desirable for selection but the number of cases picked up for scrutiny under this clause should not ordinarily exceed 1 per cent of the total summary assessments made in the charge. (iii) Subject to the basic criteria laid down in the Board's Instruction No. 289, dated 30-4-71, and as further elucidated above, Commissioners may themselves lay down the criteria for a random selection of scrutiny cases for the completed summary assessment. For instance they may direct that every 100th case may be selected by indicating that every case ending with 25 in the 'PAN' may be selected. Cases upto 1 per cent or a higher number from other specified categories to make up, along with cases in sub-para (ii) above, a total of 2 per cent may be selected. 3. It may be added that the percentages indicated above and in the earlier instructions on the subject for selective scrutiny cases are in the nature of broad guidelines laying down the minimum; depending upon the manpower available, the Commissioners may have a larger number of cases scrutinised. 4. The Board desire to emphasise that in cases taken up for selective scrutiny the aim should not be to reject the book results and to estimate the income but to arrive at specified items of income not disclosed. In cases where a rejection of the book result cannot be avoided, the I.T.O. may do so with the approval of the I.A.C. 5. It will be useful for the purposes of further projections if adequate data is collected in respect of the cases assessed after a selective scrutiny. The Board desire, therefore, that the assessing officer should maintain a register in the enclosed form in respect of these cases.