KBALIAH AND Vs. COMMISSIONER OF INCOME TAX MYSORE

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This is a reference made under section 66(2) of the Indian Income-tax Act, 1922, by the Income-tax Appellate Tribunal, Madras Bench, in pursuance of the orders of this court. It arises from I.T. As. Nos. 895, 896 and 897 of 1954-55 on the file of the Tribunal in question. The questions of law referred for our opinion are :

(2.) The assessee is an association of persons doing abkari contract in Sadam of Gulbarga District which was formerly a part of the old Hyderabad State and now a part of the Mysore State. In this case we are concerned with the assessment of the assessee for the assessment years 1950-51, 1951-52 and 1952-53. The Income-tax Officer rejected the return submitted by the assessee and added to the income returned by him a sum of Rs. 86,386 for the assessment year 1950-51, Rs. 75,000 for the year 1951-52 and Rs. 46,100 for the year 1952-53. The accounts produced by the assessee were not found to be reliable by the Income-tax Officer and so he had recourse to best judgment assessment.

(3.) Aggrieved by the order of the Income-tax Officer the assessee went up in appeal to the Appellate Assistant Commissioner. Therein the assessee did not dispute the correctness of the decision of the Income-tax Officer that his account books are not reliable. He merely contended that the estimate of the yield of today made by the Income-tax Officer is grossly excessive. In support of that contention he relied on the certificate given by the Excise Superintendent, according to which the average yield of toddy in a toddy tree in the locality in question was about 90 seers per tree. On the basis of that certificate the Appellate Assistant Commissioner substantially accepted the case of the assessee.