COMMISSIONER OF INCOME TAX Vs. CHANDRIKA EDUCATIONAL TRUST

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE Department having approached this court earlier under Section 256(2) of the Income-tax Act, 1961, in pursuance of the earlier order of this court dated September 9, 1991, in O. P. No. 2003 of 1988, the Tribunal refers the following question :

(2.) THE learned senior tax counsel introduced the facts that the assessee--Chandrika Educational Trust, Municipal Office Road, Irinjalakuda--for the year 1974-75, came to be assessed for total income of Rs. 23,980. This was on the basis of grant of exemption under Section 11.

(3.) IN the teeth of these details floating on the surface of the order of the INcome-tax Officer, further reinforced by a similar situation in the assessment proceedings, the appellate authority-Commissioner of INcome-tax (Appeals), Calicut--observing that the entire information was available with the INcome-tax Officer while making the original assessment and no fresh information had come to his possession thereafter, termed the process of reopening as redundant. Carefully and with concern reading the appellate order (annexure "C" at page 9) not only the careful and cautious order of the INcome-tax Officer is referred to, as specified hereinbefore, even the similarity of parallel assessment proceedings have not been taken care of. The facts stated in the order of the INcome-tax Officer stare in the face and go a long way to justify reopening. The appellate authority without referring to the material carefully stated, as stated above, allowed the appeal only on the basis of a bald statement that the entire information was available with the INcome-tax Officer. IN our judgment, the appellate order does not show that the order of the INcome-tax Officer was referred to in any manner or even present to the mind of the appellate authority, Normally, the appellate authority is the final fact-finding authority and, therefore, the expectations of this court, to say the least, from such last fact-finding authority are much higher in consonance with the element of finality attached thereto. Not only that the INcome-tax Officer has stated the details that the situation came to light during the assessment for the subsequent years together with the audit report being conspicuously absent with regard to the closeness of the relationship, the statutory provisions are more than satisfied, together with the position that in the assessment proceeding, parallel in nature, the position was no different.