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TMI Blog1971 (3) TMI 13X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... is annexure " 1 " in C.W.J.C. No. 858 of 1970, had assessed the taxable agricultural income of the petitioner in that case at Rs. 79,383. The tax assessed on that income was Rs. 24,640.44. The petitioner-company went up in appeal. The Deputy Commissioner of Agricultural Income-tax, Muzaffarpur, by his order dated January 14, 1964 (annexare " 2 "), set aside the assessment and remanded the case to the Agricultural Income-tax Officer for fresh assessment. On remand a fresh assessment has been made, as it appears, not in the light of the remand order passed by the Deputy Commissioner but entirely on fresh lines. I do not mean to suggest by this observation that when the remand was an open remand, a fresh assessment order on fresh lines could n ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... Commissioner, by his order dated January 14, 1964 (annexure " 2 "), remanded the case. On remand, Shri S. Das has made the fresh assessment order on December 1, 1969 (annexure " 3 "), by which he has determined the taxable agricultural income of the petitioner-company at Rs. 26,04,601, the amount of tax payable on the said sum being Rs. 14,82,745 15. C.W.J.C. No. 742 of 1970 is to challenge this assessment. In respect of the assessment year 1966-67 corresponding to the accounting year 1374 Fasli, Sri R. Sharma, Agricultural Income-tax Officer, has made the assessment order dated January 16, 1970, a copy of which is annexure " 1" in C.W.J.C. No. 841 of 1970. He has determined the taxable total of agricultural income of the petitioner-compa ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... re identical. The main grievance of the petitioner-company, namely, Motipur Zamindari Company Private Ltd., in these three cases is that the assessment orders in all there cases have been made in clear violation of the principles of natural justice on the basis of enquiries made behind the back of the assessee or its agents on materials which were not brought to their notice and they were not given opportunities to explain them and on the basis of many surmises and conjectures which in law could not form the basis of a legal and reasonable assessment. It is not necessary to go into all the alleged defects in the assessment order. For the purposes of allowing these three writ applications, it is sufficient to point out a few glaring defects, ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... dated November 27, 1969, there is a reference to another report dated November 19, 1968, prepared by Shri B. N. Tiwari, the previous Superintendent of Commercial Taxes, who was probably the Agricultural Income-tax Officer or Assistant Agricultural Income-tax Officer. This report also does not seem to have been shown to the assessee's representative. The report dated November 27, 1969, was produced before us for our perusal. There are many facts stated in that report and to our mind it was a clear violation of the principles of natural justice to base the final assessment order on that report dated November 27, 1969, without bringing it to the notice of the assessee or its representative I may also note one thing here that this report indic ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ck kilns and others would not be more than 100 bighas. The claim of the assessee of parti land was about 500 bighas. Justice required that the assessment officer ought to have told the assessee's representative the facts which he had learnt from his enquiry and ought to have asked him to explain them. One of the items of claim by the assessee was illegal occupation of certain lands by the villagers. The claim could be rejected for the assessee's failure to prove the fact. But the Agricultural Income-tax Officer not only did that, he further added in his assessment order that he enquired from local persons and officers of the local revenue office and they did not support the claim of the assessee. On the basis of such confidential enquiries, ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... court. I, therefore, in exercise of the power of this court under article 227 of the Constitution of India, set aside those orders and remit the three cases back to the Agricultural Income-tax Officer for a fresh assessment in accordance with law. There will be no order as to costs in any. As stated above, C.W.J.C. No. 841 of 1970 is allowed to be withdrawn. The petitioner may prosecute its remedy of appeal. There will be no order as to costs. Coming to the facts of C.W.J.C. No. 840 of 1970, it is to be stated that the first argument to attack the assessment order was that after the return was filed by the assessee a best judgment assessment ought not to have been made. There is no substance in this point. The return was filed in time. O ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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