COMMISSIONER OF INCOME TAX Vs. SHANKAR YARN TRADERS

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE Tribunal made a reference and the questions referred are :

(2.) WHETHER, on the facts and in the circumstances of the case, the Tribunal's view that consequent on the death of one of the partners, Shri Shyamlal Trivedi on May 31, 1973, the firm got dissolved and the firm that came into existence subsequently is completely a new entity and that two separate assessments have to be made one in the case of the new firm, is sustainable in law ?"

(3.) ON the assessee's further appeal, the Tribunal noted that the Income-tax Officer had made separate assessments on the two firms after due consideration of the assessee's applications in Form No. 12 and Form No. 11-A and the relevant partnership deeds. The internal audit party's subsequent audit note, on which the Income-tax Officer reopened the assessment under section 147(b) only amounted to a different interpretation with reference to the materials on record. This amounted to a change of opinion on the part of the Assessing Officer and the reopening of assessment was hence invalid in the light of the decision of the apex court in the case of Indian and Eastern Newspaper Society v. CIT [1979] 119 ITR 996. The Tribunal also found that the assessee should succeed on the merits.