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TMI Blog2017 (6) TMI 865X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... shed, and its legality therefore cannot be questioned. The next question if the assessee having furnished the PAN of his brother, clarifying his role to be no more than his representative, the party of the first part in the sale deed, which is the subject matter of AIR information, ought the AO to have dropped the proceedings we find no legal mandate for the same. Rather, s. 119(1)(a) clearly places a restriction on the power of the Board to issue any orders, instructions or directions requiring any income tax authority to make a particular assessment or to dispose of a particular case in a particular manner. Finding the assessee’s return as inconsistent with the law, i.e., given the undisputed, admitted facts, he made adjustments t ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... required the assessee to show the source of the purchase of a property reflected in the AIR along with the evidence. Copy of an AIR transaction report, bearing the assessee s name (as the second party) in respect of a purchase transaction of an immovable property, was also given thereat. The assessee vide letter dated 06.02.2015 furnished the required information and, further, vide letter dated 17.02.2015 clarified that his name is included in the sale deed only as a general power of attorney of his brother Mr. Goutham Rathnaswamy, a non resident, furnishing along with the copy of the sale deed (PB pages 57-77). Toward this, he would take me to page 2 of the sale deed, clearly stating the assessee as representing his brother as his power o ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... e two adjustments (to his returned income), he would submit that the challenge is only to the jurisdictional issue, i.e., of the competence of the AO to have, firstly, issued the notice u/s. 143(2), and thereafter, of continuing with the said proceedings after it was shown that the assessee was not a party to the impugned transaction, and his name had been entered in the sale agreement only as a representative of the seller/vendor, a non resident, as his attorney, furnishing his PAN. Instructions by the Board are, as is well settled, binding on the Assessing Officers, with the Tribunal also taking such a view in respect of instructions with regard to the selection and scope of inquiry of return for verification purposes under the Act. Th ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ng assessment proceedings on that score. Surely, the assessee extending cooperation in the said proceedings and furnishing information on other aspects of his return, as required by the AO, would not go against him; rather, speaks well of him, or detract from his case of questioning the legal basis of the notice u/s. 143(2) in view of the Instruction afore-referred. This is as once the assessee has clarified that he is a power of attorney holder of his brother, furnishing the latter s PAN, his brother could be assessed in respect of the transaction reported in the AIR transaction summary. The moot question, therefore, is if the assessee s case is indeed an AIR case, i.e., selected on the basis of information received through the AIR return. ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... iting, where the income escaping assessment involved is in excess of ₹ 10 lacs (Rs. 5 lacs for non metro charges) (para 4). Though the Instruction dated 26.9.2014 is after the date of the notice u/s. 143(2) in the instant case (03/9/2014), the same in fact reiterates what Instruction dated 08.9.2010 states, so that there is no material difference between the two. In fact, the verification commenced only after 26.9.2014, with the assessee being supplied with the requisitions only on 16.01.2015. The non-stamping of the notice as an AIR case, or the AO calling for information on other aspects, which is thus in violation of the guidelines, would be of no moment inasmuch as the Revenue cannot take advantage of it s own wrong. The same woul ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... restriction on the power of the Board to issue any orders, instructions or directions requiring any income tax authority to make a particular assessment or to dispose of a particular case in a particular manner. In other words, proscribes placing a restriction on the power of inquiry of the AO. It was therefore well within the purview of the AO to call for and verify the information furnished to him. That being so, he could not have proceeded further ignoring or overlooking or without meeting the same. Finding the assessee s return as inconsistent with the law, i.e., given the undisputed, admitted facts, he made adjustments to the returned income, to which in fact the ld. AR also conceded as valid in law and, in any case, are not disputed. ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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