THANTHI TRUST Vs. ASSISTANT COMMISSIONER OF INCOME TAX

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE short question involved in this writ petition is whether the notice issued by the respondent as per P. A, No. 47-005-AZ-5117 dated. December 8, 1988, is valid, in demanding the petitioner for the production of the documents listed as items Nos. 1 and 2 in the said notice.

(2.) THE assessee had already filed a writ petition in W. P. No. 1222 of 1979 (Thanthi Trust v. ITO [1989] 177 ITR 307), before this honourable court and the Division Bench of this High Court has passed the following orders wherein paragraph 41 reads as follows (page 337) :

(3.) IT is further submitted that the impugned notice was issued under Section 147(a) of the Income-tax Act, and the same was issued after the expiry of four years and, therefore, the respondent has no competency or jurisdiction to proceed with the reassessment in respect of items Nos. 1 and 2 which were already verified and assessed. The further case of the petitioner is that the notice was issued under Section 147(a) read with Section 148 of the Income-tax Act. Section 147 of the Act deals with tax which has escaped assessment for that year. Section 148 of the Act deals with the service of notice on the assessee before making the assessment and reassessment or recomputation under Section 147, and that, therefore, the respondent is entitled to issue notice only under these two sections in respect of the escaped assessment and items Nos. 1 and 2 mentioned in the impugned notice, do not fall under the category of "escaped assessment as these items had already been verified and assessed".