The Commissioner Of Income Tax-19Mumbai v. Shri Harpalsingh Sabharwal

T IN THE HIGH COURT OF JDICATURE AT BOMBAY ORDINARY ORIGINAL CIVIL JURISDICTIONINCOME TAX APPEAL NO. 903 OF 2004 The Commissioner of Income Tax-19Mumbai ..Appellant. Vs. Shri Harpalsingh Sabharwal, ..Respondent. Mr. Suresh Kumar, for the Appellant. Mr.K.Gopal with Jitendra Singh, for the respondent. CORAM : J.P. DEVADHAR AND A.A. SAYED, JJ.DATE : 9[th] AUGUST, 2011. P.C. 1.Heard. Whether the ITAT was justified in cancelling the order passed by the CIT under section 263 of the Income tax Act, 1961, is the question raised in this appeal? 2.In the present case, the Block Assessment was completed under section 158 BC of the Income Tax Act, 1961, determining total undisclosed income of Rs.50,000/- in the hands of the assessee. 3.The CIT was of the opinion that the documents seized during the course of search were in the handwriting of the assessee and that in the statement recorded during the course of search it was revealed that the business was carried on by the assessee in the name of his mother. Since the assessing officer had not confronted the assessee with the seized documents, the CIT invoked the jurisdiction and passed an order directing the Assessing Officer to make inquiries and pass a fresh order. 4.Challenging the aforesaid order, the assessee filed an appeal and by the impugned order, the ITAT quashed the order of the CIT on the ground that the Assessing Officer in paragraph nos 4 to 6 of the Assessment Order has considered all aspects of the matter and arrived at a conclusion that the undisclosed income found during the course of search was liable to be assessed in the hands of assessee's mother. Thus, according to the ITAT, the decision of the CIT was merely a change of opinion and it was not a case of the assessment being erroneous and prejudicial to the interest of the revenue. Admittedly, the undisclosed income recorded in the books found during the course of search have been offered to tax by the mother of the assessee and the assessment order passed thereon has attained finality. In these circumstances, no fault can be found with the decision of the ITAT in quashing the order of the CIT passed under section 263 of the Income Tax Act,1961. Accordingly, the Appeal is dismissed. ( A.A. SAYED, J. ) (J.P. DEVADHAR, J.)