COMMISSIONER OF INCOME TAX Vs. SHRIVASTAVA N

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE Income-tax Appellate Tribunal, Indore Bench, Indore, has referred the following question to this court for its opinion under Section 256(1) of the Income-tax Act, 1961 (hereinafter referred to as "the Act"):

(2.) THE facts in brief necessary to answer the aforesaid question are that with regard to the assessment year 1978-79, the accounting year of which ended on March 31, 1978, the assessee filed his return under Section 139(4) of the Act on March 22, 1979, he not having filed a return under Section 139(1) or (2), Subsequently, the assessee filed another return on March 11, 1981 purporting to be a revised return. THE assessment order was passed on November 23, 1981, i.e., within one year from March 11, 1981, the date on which the revised return was filed.

(3.) IT has been urged by Shri Rawat, appearing for the applicant, that the view taken by the Tribunal that the assessment was barred by time is erroneous inasmuch as in the instant case, the starting point of limitation would be March 11, 1981, when the revised return was filed. Reliance in support of this submission has been placed on a decision of a Division Bench of the Calcutta High Court in Mst. Zulekha Begum Khatoon v. CIT, 1981 129 ITR 560, where after a conspectus of the authorities on the point and the statute law, it was held (p. 568):