P.A.JOSE Vs. UNION OF INDIA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Heard Sri Ajay Vohra and Sri A Kumar learned Senior Counsels, assisted by Adv G Mini, for the petitioners and Sri Jose Joseph, learned Senior Standing Counsel for the Income Tax Department.

(2.) The present batch of writ petitions involve almost common questions of fact and law; therefore, the same have been heard together and are being decided by this common judgment. The facts of the lead petition, W.P.(C) No.30318/2019, are taken note of to understand the issue(s) involved in these writ petitions.

(3.) The petitioner is an individual resident and an assessee to Income Tax for the purposes of the Income Tax Act 1961 and the Rules made thereunder. The petitioner is engaged in the business of trading of jewellery and articles of gold. The petitioner established and commenced its business operation in the year 1978. It is said that the petitioner has been maintaining regular books of accounts since the inception of its business venture in the year 1978. The petitioner has been following the mercantile system of accounting and has been consistently valuing its stock/inventory at a lower cost or market value, determining cost using the Last-In-First-Out (LIFO) method. The Revenue Department had been regularly accepting the books of accounts of the petitioner. The petitioner would value the stock-in-trade under the LIFO method at the start of the accounting period.