DALCHAND NEMCHAND Vs. UNION OF INDIA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THESE are connected writ petitions under Article 226 of the Constitution of India by the HUF firm, M/s. Dalchand Nemchand, in respect of the best judgment assessment made by the ITO, A Ward, Udaipur, for the assessment years 1966-67, 1967-68, 1968-69 and 1969-70.

(2.) ALL the writ petitions are directed against the common order dated February 16, 1972, passed by the Additional Commissioner of Income-tax, Rajasthan, Jaipur, camp Udaipur, in respect of all the four assessment years. It appears that the ITO, A-Ward, Udaipur, who is the assessing authority served notice on the assessee, in the first instance, under Section 139(2) of the I.T. Act, 1961 (hereinafter to be referred to as "the Act"), but the assessee did not comply with the notice. Thereafter notice was issued under Section 142( 1) of the Act calling upon the assessee to produce the books of account maintained by it. Thereupon the authorised representative of the assessee put in appearance on behalf of the assessee before the taxing authority and prayed for an adjournment. Adjournment was allowed but again there was default in appearance on behalf of the assessee. The ITO found that the assessee was a habitual defaulter and there was no alternative left to him but to proceed to frame the assessment on the basis of best judgment. He went on to observe that keeping in view the past history of the case and the enquiry made by him, the assessee's income for each of these years may be assessed at Rs. 19,600, the break-up of which was as follows: