SINGHAI MANJILAL & SONS Vs. COMMISSIONER, INCOME-TAX

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THIS is an application under section 66(3) of the Indian Income -tax Act, 1922, (hereinafter referred to as the Act) for an order requiring the Income -tax Appellate Tribunal to treat an application filed by the petitioner under section 66 (1) as made within the time allowed by that section.

(2.) THE application, which' the Tribunal held as out of time, was filed in these circumstances. The Department filed before the Tribunal an appeal against an order of the Appellate Assistant Commissioner holding that an amount of Rs. 20, 000 received by the petitioner -assessee as a premium for giving a lease of Shri Krishana Talkies was not texable in the hands of the assessee. In that appeal, the assessee repeated the contention raised by it before the Appellate Assistant Commissioner, namely, that the proceedings taken by the Income -tax Officer under section 34 of the Act were invalid. 'On 27th November 1962 the Tribunal passed an order holding that the amount of Rs. 20,000 - received by the assessee was taxable and thus allowed the Department's appeal The order of the Tribunal upholding the Department's contention concluded by the following observations ,. As we have decided the above appeal by the Department against the assessee, it will now be necessary to consider the second contention raised by the assessee before the Appellate Commissioner that the proceedings u/s 34 as taken by the Income -tax Officer are invalid. As an assurance was given by us to the assessee at the time of hearing of the appeal that an opportunity would be given to the assessee to hear it on the question of the validity of initiation of proceedings under Sec. 34 in case point raised in the above appeal by the Department was decided against it, the case will be posted for hearing on that point only.

(3.) THE Tribunal took the view that the assessee's application under section 66 (1) of the Act filed on 14th March 1963 for referring certain questions of law to this Court said to be arising out of the Tribunal's order dated 27th November 1962 was barred by time inasmuch as it was made more than sixty days from 17th December 1962, the date on which the assessee was served with the notice of the order. It further held that the assessee's prayer for condonation of delay made by a telegram received by the Tribunal on 15th February 1963 followed by a letter of the assessee dated 14th February 1963 could not be granted as Sec. 66 (1) conferred no power on the Tribunal to condone delay in the filing of an application under that provision and that the delay could not be condoned under section 256 (1) of the Act of 1961 as the reference was governed by the old Act and not the new Act as made clear by clause 4 of the Income -tax (Removal of Difficulties) Order, 1962. The Tribunal held that even if it be assumed that the Tribunal's order dated 27th November 1962 was not a final order disposing of the Department's appeal and that the application made by the assessee on 14th March 1963, read with its; subsequent application dated 11th July 1963 for additional reference, which was received by the Tribunal on 15th July 1963, was an application requesting the tribunal to refer to this Court certain questions of law arising out of its order dated the 15th February 1963, still that application was out of time inasmuch as it was received by the Tribunal on 15th July 1963 more than sixty days after 29th April 1953, the date on which the assessee was served with the Tribunal's order dated 15th February 1963.