HARGOVIND DAMJI Vs. COMMISSIONER OF INCOME TAX

JUDGEMENT

(1.) AT the instance of the applicant assessee, the Tribunal, Ahmedabad Bench 'A' has referred to this Court the following question of law arising out of its order passed in ITA No. 663/Ahd./1981, dt. 24th March, 1984, for the opinion of this Court under S. 256(1) of the IT Act, 1961 (hereinafter referred to as the "the Act") :

(2.) LEARNED counsel Shri B.B. Naik has appeared for the Revenue whereas nobody has appeared for the applicant assessee.

(3.) BEING aggrieved by the assessment order, the assessee had filed an appeal before the AAC which was rejected and being aggrieved by the said order passed in the appeal, the assessee had approached the Tribunal. It was mainly submitted by the assessee that as the assessee had filed his first return under the provision of S. 139(4) of the Act, the revised return which the assessee had filed on 22nd March, 1976 ought to have been treated as non est because the revised return could have been filed by the assessee only if he had filed his income tax return under the provisions of S. 139(1) or S. 142(1) of the Act, the assessee could not have filed any revised return and, therefore, the revised return filed by the assessee could not have been treated as a valid return. In the circumstances, it was further submitted that as the first return filed by the assessee was under the provisions of S. 139(4) of the Act, the assessment ought to have been completed before 31st March, 1976 as per the provisions of S. 153 of the Act and as the assessment was not framed within the period of limitation prescribed under the provisions of S. 153 of the Act, the order of assessment was bad in law.