INCOME-TAX OFFICER Vs. MAHARI AND SONS

JUDGEMENT

(1.) These nine appeals rise a common ground. They are, therefore, heard together and are being deposed of by a common order for the sake of convenience. Five of these appeals, viz., for the assessment years 1966-67 to 1970-71, have come up to us for the second time. They had earlier come up at the behest of the department and the position is same this time also. The Tribunal was called upon earlier to decide whether the assessee was assessable in the status of as AOP and whether the income was exempt in terms of Sec. 10[26. of the Income tax Act, 1961 [the Act.. The Tribunal sent back the case of the AAC to ascertain the fuller facts as to be ownership of the properties in question and then determine the question of assessability of the assessee. The learned AAC in his turn sent back the matter to the ITO with the direction that the ITO should complete the assessments afresh as per provisions of law. In accordance with the above direction, the ITO reframed the assessments on 16-3-1978, taking the status of the assessee as body of individuals. The plea of the assessee that the assessee was neither an AOP nor a BOI was negatived by the ITO. The assessee had taken further plea before him that, in any case, the assessees income was exempt from tax in terms of Sec. 10[26., as the assessee was from a scheduled tribe, deriving income from sources situated in the scheduled areas. The ITO negatived this stand by pointing out, inter alia, as follows :

(2.) The assessee appealed against the above finding of the ITO to the learned AAC, who disagreed with him on both the points. The learned AAC held :

(3.) The department is now in appeal before us against the aforesaid two findings of the learned AAC on the basis of which he has annulled the assessment orders in respect of all the assessment years 1966-67 to 1975-76.