2004 (3) TMI 39

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..... pugned notices are hereby quashed
Judge(s) : A. M. SAPRE. JUDGMENT A. M. SAPRE J. -The short question that arises for consideration in this writ is, whether respondent No. 1-Deputy Commissioner of Income-tax, Circle-5, Indore, was justified in issuing the impugned notices under section 148 of the Income-tax Act, 1961 (annexures A5 to A8) to the petitioner for the assessment years 1997-98, 1998-99, 1999-2000 and 2000-2001. The facts of the case are not in dispute. Indeed, in income-tax matters, the facts are mostly not in dispute and hence the courts are only concerned with the applicability of legal questions arising out of the controversy. It is not in dispute that the assessments of the years in question, referred to supra, are com .....

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..... mpugned notices. In my considered opinion, the question raised in this writ remains no longer res integra and stands decided by the decision of Supreme Court rendered in the case of Smt. Amiya Bala Paul v. CIT [2003] 262 ITR 407. In this case also, the question arose, to what extent the Income-tax Officer can exercise his powers under sections 131(1), 133(6) and 142(2) of the Income-tax Act as also in relation to powers conferred under section 55A ibid while obtaining the valuation report of the Valuation Officer-statutory authority appointed under section 2(2) of the Wealth-tax Act. Their Lordships after examining the scheme of the Income-tax Act and the Wealth-tax Act, inter alia, held that: "Besides section 55A having expressly set ou .....

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..... r to the Valuation Officer for estimating the cost of construction of the house property. The appeal is accordingly allowed and the decision of the High Court set aside." It is, therefore, clear that the Assessing Officer has no jurisdiction to take recourse to the provisions of sections 131(1), 133(6) and 142(2) of the Act for obtaining any report of the Valuation Officer except in a case of reference made to the Valuation Officer under section 55A ibid and that too in respect of the cases enumerated therein for making a reference. Coming to the facts of the case, when the assessment proceedings in respect of the assessment year in question had already been completed then, in such event, the Assessing Officer had no jurisdiction to pla .....

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