ISWARA BHAT Vs. COMMISSIONER OF AGRICULTURAL INCOME TAX

JUDGEMENT

(1.) AT the instance of an assessee, the Commissioner of Agricultural Income-tax, Trivandrum, has referred one question in I.T.R. No. 104 of 1981 and three questions in I.T.R. No. 585 of 1985, . for the decision of this court. They are as follows :

(2.) THE respondent is the Revenue. We are concerned with the assessment year 1961-62 for which the accounting period was July 1, 1959, to June 30, 1960. THE assessee is M/s. Kallakutta Farms, Muttathodi P.O., Kasargode. Till 1960-61, their assessments were completed in the status of "Hindu undivided family". During the course of assessment for the year 1961-62, the assessee claimed the status of "tenants-in-common" by virtue of an agreement dated June 30, 1959, registered on June 25, 1960. THEy pleaded that there had been a severance in the status of the joint family. Copy of the agreement dated June 30, 1959, is annexure-B. THE assessing authority, after making enquiries, by an order dated December 31, 1960, gave effect to the agreement and held that the assessment should be made under Section 3(5) of the Agricultural Income-tax Act for the accounting year commencing from July 1, 1960, and the tax payable by all the ten ants-in-common will be demanded in the hands of the common manager. THE Commissioner of Agricultural Income-tax, by virtue of the powers conferred on him under Section 34 of the Act, initiated suo motu revision proceedings. By notice dated December 9, 1964, issued to M/s. Ganapathy Bhat and six others, he proposed to cancel the order passed by the Agricultural Income-tax Officer dated December 31, 1960. It was further proposed that the status should be reassigned as Hindu undivided family. Mr. Ganapathy Bhat, manager of the family, filed objections on December 51, 1964. He died on December 27, 1965. THErefore, the proceedings necessitated issue of fresh notice to all the adult members of the family. Notice was issued on March 9, 1966, which was served on April 16, 1966. It is seen that Shri Iswara Bhat, one of the members of the family, filed 0. P. No. 1852 of 1966 in this court assailing the said notice. But, the original petition was dismissed on July 25, 1967. THEreafter, Mr. Iswara Bhat and another member of the family, Mr. Rama Bhat, filed objections on August 22, 1967, and December 10, 1967, respectively. (THEy are annexures F and G). For nearly 13 years, no action seems to have been taken in the said proceedings. THE Commissioner of Agricultural Income-tax heard, the parties on April 22, 1980, and passed an order dated October 31, 1980, reversing the order assigning the status of "tenants-in-common" by the assessing authority as early as December 31, 1960. THE assessing authority was directed to revise the assessment reassigning the status as " Hindu undivided family ". It is thereafter at the motion of the assessee that the Commissioner of Agricultural Income- tax, Trivandrum, referred the only question in I. T. R. No. 104 of 1981. THE assessee moved this court in O. P. No. 5492 of 1981 and, as directed by this court, three other questions have been referred for the same year and arising out of the same revisional order passed by the Commissioner of Agricultural Income-tax dated October 31, 1980. THE said three questions are referred in I. T. R. No. 585 of 1985.

(3.) COUNSEL for the Revenue, Mr. V. C. James, submitted that the suo motu revision proceedings have been initiated within time and that the said proceedings should be deemed to be pending till the final order is passed. COUNSEL for the Revenue further submitted that the Act has not specified the time limit within which the revisional order should be rendered and, in the absence of any such specification, the order passed on October 31, 1980, by the Commissioner cannot be said to be in any way vitiated. It cannot be assailed as unreasonable or irrational.