KAMALCHAND Vs. INCOME TAX OFFICER

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THIS order shall also dispose of Misc. Petition No. 308 of 1979 (Kamalchand v. Income-tax Officer, Dhar) and Misc. Petition No. 310 of 1979 (Kamalchand v. Income-tax Officer, Dhar).

(2.) THESE are petitions under acts. 226 and 227 of the Constitution of India. The facts giving rise to these petitions briefly stated are as follows: The petitioner is a registered partnership firm and has been assessed to income-tax as such by respondent No. 1. The assessment years involved in these petitions are 1975-76, 1976-77 and 1977-78. The petitioner's assessment was made by the predecessor-in-office of respondent No. 1 who allowed deductions under Sections 80HH and 80J of the I.T. Act, 1961 (hereinafter referred to as "the Act"). The petitioner received notices dated July 17, 1978, under Section 148 of the Act for the aforesaid three years for reassessment under Section 147(b) of the Act. A copy of the notice is filed by the petitioner as annex. C to the petitions. The petitioner filed returns under protest. Thereafter, the ITO served on the petitioner a notice dated September 28, 1979, whereby the petitioner was asked to produce documentary evidence on the following points:

(3.) SIMILAR reasons were recorded by the respondent for reopening the assessment for the years 1976-77 and 1977-78. From the reasons given by respondent No. 1 to reopen the assessments it is clear that all the materials were on record on the basis of which the predecessor-in-office of respondent No. 1 originally allowed deductions under Sections 80HH and 80J of the Act. No new information appears to have come into the possession of respondent No. 1 which had led him to believe that income chargeable to tax had escaped assessment for the assessment years in question and it was merely a change of opinion which prompted respondent No. 1 to issue the notice for reassessment to the petitioner.