9911796707
TMI Blog1998 (4) TMI 500X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... der section 139. Hence, the total income for the five years aggregating to Rs. 2,62,338 is treated as the undisclosed income of the block period under section 158BB(1)(c). The total undisclosed income of the block period was mentioned in the assessment order as under : Previous year Amount (Rs.) 1987-88 75,080 1988-89 54,745 1989-90 55,053 1991-92 37,375 1992-93 40,085 Total 2,62,338 Aggrieved by the same, the assessee preferred this appeal before the Tribunal. The assessee s counsel filed a paper-book of five pages, containing the acknowledgments for having filed the returns for the assessment years 1988-89, 1989-90, 1990-91, 1992-93 and 1993-94. He urged that the returns for the assessment years 1988-89, 1989-90 and 1990-91 were filed on January 29, 1993, and the returns for the assessment years 1992-93 and 1993-94 were filed on May 19, 1995. Accordingly, he urged that the Assistant Commissioner erred in taking the income of Rs. 2,62,338 as the undisclosed income for the block period April 1, 1995, to February 6, 1996, as mentioned in the impugned assess ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... 3,087 These were not considered by the Assessing Officer in the impugned assessment order dated February 28, 1997. This is in total disregard of section 158BH, which reads as under : 158BH. Save as otherwise provided in this Chapter, all other provisions of this Act shall apply to assessment made under this Chapter. The impugned assessment order is not a speaking order passed after the application of mind by the Assessing Officer to the relevant provisions of law. In these facts and circumstances of the case, we set aside the impugned assessment order. In the result the appeal is allowed. Per N. D. Raghavan (Judicial Member)-I have carefully gone through the erudite order proposed by my learned brother, but with great respects and inspite of persuading myself to agree with it even after discussions with him over it, I am unable to concur with him after, however, giving considerable thought to the contents and conclusions of the order proposed by him, for the reasons following : In the instant case, it is true that the assessment order in its cause title portion against Column No. 6 the block period is stated as April 1, 1995, to February 6, 1996 ; but th ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... cer erred in estimating the income of Rs. 2,62,338 for the assessment years 1987-88 to 1992-93 for the purpose of computing the income for the block period of April 1, 1985, to February 6, 1996, without any valid basis since returns were filed, and observing that the impugned assessment order is not a speaking order passed after the application of mind by the Assessing Officer to the relevant provisions of law, resulting thus in annulment of the assessment order for the reasons particularly detailed in para. 5 at page 2 of the proposed order of the Vice-President ? or (b) opining that as no valid return was filed by the assessee under section 139 of the Act, the income declared in the belated returns cannot be considered by the Assessing Officer and while so confirming his action on this point, with reference to deductions claimed under section 80CCA for the assessment years 1989-90 and 1990-91 and deduction claimed under section 80G for the assessment year 1990-91, for a decision de novo by the Assessing Officer through a speaking order after giving opportunity of being heard to the assessee, for the reasons particularly detailed in paras. 2 and 3 at pages 5 and 6 of the disse ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... , 1997. In the impugned assessment order, the Assessing Officer discussed that all the investments had been considered in the hands of the assessee in his individual status. He furthermore discussed that however, the assessee had failed to file his return of income for the assessment years 1988-89, 1989-90, 1990-91, 1992-93 and 1993-94 as envisaged under section 139 of the Act. Therefore, the Assessing Officer stated that the total income of the assessee for the five years aggregating to Rs. 2,62,338 was being treated as undisclosed income of the block period under section 158BB(1)(c). The total undisclosed income of the block period was mentioned in the assessment order as under : Previous year Amount (Rs.) 1987-88 75,080 1988-89 64,745 1989-90 55,053 1991-92 37,375 1992-93 40,085 Total 2,62,338 Tax on the abovementioned undisclosed income was computed at Rs.1,57,404 at the rate of 60 per cent. The first appeal against the aforesaid assessment was heard by a Bench of the Tribunal consisting of the Vice-President-cum-Accountant Member and also the Judicial ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... losed income. So far as the question of allowing deductions under Chapter VI-A is concerned, he set aside the assessment on the limited point and remitted the matter back to the Assessing Officer for redoing the assessment in the light of the discussion made by him. It is required to be noted in this connection that the Vice-President simply set aside the impugned assessment order, without clearly specifying the purport of his order in that regard. In income-tax parlance, the word setting aside means cancelling the order and allowing the Assessing Officer to pass a fresh order in its place. In such a case, the appellate/ revisionary authorities generally add an extra sentence directing the Assessing Officer to redo it afresh in accordance with the law. In this case, the Vice-President, however did not give any specific direction to the Assessing Officer to redo the assessment once more. Again, in the concluding paragraph of his order, he allowed the appeal. Generally, in the case of setting aside by the appellate authority for the purpose of allowing it to be redone, the appeal is considered to be partially allowed or allowed for statistical purposes. Lastly, again, from the ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... h, there was no question of treating the said income as undisclosed income. From the definition of undisclosed income as provided in section 158B(b), it is clear that the said undisclosed income is stated to include any money, bullion, jewellery or other valuable article or thing or any income based on any entry in the books of account or other document or transactions, where such money, bullion, jewellery, valuable article, thing, entry in the books of account or other document or transactions represents wholly or partly income or property which has not been or would not have been disclosed for the purposes of this Act. In the present case, the impugned assessment order clearly states that all the investments have been considered in the hands of the assessee in his individual status and hence such investments even if they be undisclosed in nature, cannot be considered in the impugned assessment in the case of the Hindu undivided family. The income returned by the assessee in the belated and invalid returns filed by it is merely of the nature of rent and interest earned. Such income does not exactly fit in with the definition of various items of income as mentioned in section 1 ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... the assessee, really represents the income not disclosed or not meant for the Department. I am, therefore, of the view that actually there is no existence of any undisclosed income for the purpose of an assessment to be made under Chapter XIV-B. Section 158BB only prescribes the method for computing the undisclosed income of the block period. However, prior to making such computation, the existence of undisclosed income as such, is required to be shown. In the instant case, there is no existence of undisclosed income at all. Hence, the question of application of different clauses of sub-section (1) of section 158BB for the purpose of computing undisclosed income for the block period cannot arise. Finally, therefore, I hold that on account of non-existence of any undisclosed income, the impugned assessment under Chapter XIV-B for the block period is liable to be annulled. I, therefore, agree with the setting aside of the assessment tantamounting to annulment of the same. In view of the annulment of the impugned assessment, the question of allowing the claims of the assessee under Chapter VI-A does not arise and the second issue as referred to in the point of difference, there ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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