COMMISSIONER OF INCOME TAX Vs. SARASWATI DEVI

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE Income-tax Appellate Tribunal has referred the following question of law arising out of its order dated February 19, 1986, in respect of the assessment year 1978-79 under section 256(1) of the Income-tax Act, 1961 :

(2.) WE have heard the representatives of the parties at length in this appeal. Without expressing any opinion on the actual income earned by the assessee, we are of the opinion that no addition could have been made to the Income-tax Officers case that the assessee at all earned any income. In fact the whole assessment has been made on a protective basis and according to the assessee the èentire income belonged to her husband. In these circumstances, there was no question of making any addition in the hands of the assessee. All the additions, if any, had to be made in the hands of the person to whom the income was stated to have belonged. A protective assessment is practically no assessment in the eyes of law. It is only made on the basis of some return filed by the assessee. Therefore, no addition can be made unless the Department comes to the conclusion that the income really belongs to the assessee. Till such a conclusion is arrived at, the question of making addition does not arise. WE, therefore, delete all the additions in question as a protective measure only.