9911796707
TMI Blog1993 (6) TMI 56X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... the Income-tax Act, 1961, read with section 147 of the Income-tax Act, 1961 ?" The assessee is a registered firm. The assessment year is 1978-79. The assessee aid not submit a return as contemplated under sub-section (1) of section 139 of the Act. The Income-tax Officer did not issue notice to the assessee under sub-section (2) of section 139 of the Act. Long after the end of the previous year relevant to the assessment year, the Income-tax Officer issued notice to the assessee under section 148 of the Act averring that income chargeable to tax had escaped assessment for the assessment year 1978-79 by reason of the failure on the part of the assessee to make a return. On receipt of the notice, the assessee submitted a return and also his ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... er section 144, on the amount of the tax payable on the total income as determined on regular assessment, as reduced by the advance tax, if any paid, and any tax deducted at source : Provided that the Income-tax Officer may, in such cases and under such circumstances as may be prescribed, reduce or waive the interest payable by any assessee under this sub-section. Explanation 1.-For the purposes of this sub-section, 'specified date' in relation to a return for an assessment year, means, (a) in the case of every assessee whose total income, or the total income of any person in respect of which he is assessable under this Act, includes any income from business or profession, the date of the expiry of four months from the end of the previo ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... after the specified date. In such cases, liability to pay simple interest at 12 per cent. per annum would arise for the period referred to in the sub-section. Interest is payable on the amount of tax payable on the "total income as deter mined on regular assessment", as reduced by the advance tax, if any, paid, and any tax deducted at source. The expressions "assessment" and "regular assessment" are defined in the Act. Clause (8) of section 2 of the Act defines assessment as " including reassessment". Clause (40) of section 2 defines "regular assessment" as follows: " 'regular assessment' means the assessment made under section 143 or section 144. " Going by this definition, "regular assessment" would comprehend within its scope onl ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ssment or reassessment contemplated under section 147 is quite different in nature and content from the assessment under section 143. Assessment or reassessment under section 147 can be made only after issue of a notice under section 148. The provision in section 148 declaring that, as far as may be, the provisions of the Act shall apply as if the return were a return under section 139 is a device adopted to indicate the procedure to be followed after issue of the notice under section 148. The procedure contemplated in section 143 is required to be followed as far as may be. This cannot lead to the inference that assessment or reassessment under section 147 is assessment under section 143 or that it is a regular assessment as defined in sec ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... n 147 of the Act. We may refer in this connection to a judgment of the Karnataka High Court delivered by K. Jagannatha Shetty J., as he then was, and S. R. Rajasekhara Murthy J., in Charles D'Souza v. CIT [1984] 147 ITR 694. The judgment followed the views of the High Courts of Kerala, Patna, Allahabad, Orissa, Punjab and Haryana and Calcutta, which is in accordance with the view we have taken. The same view was followed in later decisions, namely, CIT v. Padma Timber Depot [1988] 169 ITR 646 (AP), Prakash Lal Khandelwal v. ITO [1989] 180 ITR 604 (Patna) and CIT v. United Machinery and Appliances [1993] 200 ITR 569 (Cal). A later decision of the Kerala High Court in P. A. Abdul Muthalif Rowther v. ITO [1976] 102 ITR 694 takes a view diffe ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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