COMMISSIONER OF INCOME-TAX Vs. KAVITA GUPTA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The present application is under Section 256(2) of the Income-tax Act, 1961. The Revenue has sought for the following question to be referred to this court :

(2.) The facts of the case are that the return of income was filed by the assessee on March 23, 1989, in compliance with the notice under Section 148 showing an income of Rs. 51,050. The assessment was completed on March 31, 1989, on an income of Rs. 68,370. While completing the assessment, the Assistant Commissioner gave an office note in the assessment order stating that during the year the assessee had received gifts worth Rs. 5,62,016 from different persons on the occasion of her marriage. The assessee filed a list of donors along with their P. A. account G. I. R. No. showing the place of their assessment. The Assistant Commissioner in his note further stated that the assessment was being completed subject to further enquiry to be made at Madras for verification of alleged gifts and if necessary suitable action will be taken subsequently.

(3.) Thereafter, on furnishing full particulars of the alleged donors to the Deputy Director (Intelligence), Madras, it was gathered that most of the donors did not know anything about the assessee and they denied having made such gifts. Thereafter, he suggested that most of the gifts were not genuine. In these circumstances, action under Section 263 was taken as the order of the Assistant Commissioner was found to be erroneous and prejudicial to the interests of the Revenue. The Assistant Commissioner completed the assessment within eight days of the filing of the return under a mistaken belief that the assessment was going to become barred by limitation on March 31, 1989, as a result of which he hurriedly completed the assessment without making any prior enquiry into the alleged gifts shown to have been received by the assessee during the previous year.