Random selection of cases issued separately. - Income Tax - 1509/CBDT

INSTRUCTION NO. 1509/CBDT Dated: May 13, 1983 Section(s) Referred: 143 Statute: Income - Tax Act, 1961 Attention is invited to the Revised Annexure 'B' to Chairman's D.O. letter F.No. 17/I/80-OD-DOMS, dated 23rd May, 1980 and other existing instructions of the Board laying down the criteria for segregating cases into scrutiny and summary. The Board had occasion to re-examine these criteria and it has now been decided to modify the existing instruction to the extent mentioned below :- (i) Instructions No. 1382, dated 9th February, 1981 (F.No. 201/162/80-ITA.II) are modified to the extent that all cases of salary assessments, except those with income over Rs. 1 lakh or those selected for random scrutiny, can now be completed under the Summary Assessment Scheme. The cases subject to random selection, in accordance with the prescribed procedure, would continue to be subjected to thorough scrutiny as at present. (ii) Under the existing instructions, cases covered under section 44AA of the Income-tax Act, 1961 where no books of accounts are maintained, are required to be completed after scrutiny. In practice, however, it is seen that, prima facie, from the return of income itself it is not possible to ascertain whether books of accounts have been maintained or not, and therefore, there is no uniformity in the selection of cases for scrutiny under this criterion. It has, therefore, been decided that there will be no necessity to take any case out of the purview of summary assessment scheme merely because the assessee is engaged in a profession notified under section 44AA. (iii) In cases of partners of a firm, it is clarified that the Summary Assessment Scheme does not envisage the treatment of cases of all the partners, who are partners in a firm having income of Rs. 1 lakh and above, as scrutiny cases. This income criterion of Rs. 1 lakh and above in the case of the partner himself should only be applied and assessment completed accordingly. This relaxation will not, however, preclude the ITO from obtaining total wealth statements in such cases of partners if this enquiry is considered necessary for proper investigation of the case of the firm itself. 2. Instructions regarding completion of assessments in new cases whether detected in survey or on account of voluntary returns) with returned income upto Rs. 25,000 in a summary manner have already been issued vide Instructions No. 1499, dated 22nd February, 1983 (F. No. 201/55/83-ITA-II). 3. Instructions regarding random selection of cases are being issued separately. 4. The updated list of types of assessments to be regarded as falling into cases needing scrutiny is given in the Annexure. 5. The above instructions may please be brought to the notice of all the officers working in your charge.