The Commissioner Of Income Tax, Pune Ii v. Dugad Family Trust, Pune

IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT BOMBAYORDINARY ORIGINAL CIVIL JURISDICTION INCOME TAX APPEAL NO.1720 OF 2009 The Commissioner of Income Tax, Pune II ..Appellant. Versus Dugad Family Trust, Pune..Respondent. Mr.Vimal Gupta for the appellant.Mr.P.J. Pardiwala, Senior Advocate with Mr.Sudhir Hardikar for the respondent. CORAM : J.P. Devadhar &K.K. Tated, JJ. P.C. : DATE : 8th September 2011 1.Whether the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal was justified in holding that the second block assessment order passed by the assessing officer on 28[th] March 2002 was void-ab-initio on the ground that the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal by its order dated 6[th] August 2004 has held that the first block assessment order itself was time-barred is the question raised in this appeal. 2.Admittedly, the appeal filed by the Revenue against the order of the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal dated 6[th] August 2004, being Income Tax Appeal No.288 of 2005 has been dismissed on 29[th] March 2006 by the Prothonotary & Senior Master, High Court, Bombay for non-removal of office objections. On a Notice of Motion taken out by the Revenue, the appeal was restored and two weeks time was granted for removing the office objections, failing which it was held that the order dated 29[th] March 2006 would stand restored. Admittedly, the objections were not removed within the stipulated time, hence, the order of the Prothonotary dated 29[th] March 2006 dismissing the appeal stood restored. 3.Moreover, similar order passed by the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal holding that the first block assessment order was time-barred was challenged by the Revenue in the case of The Commissioner of Income Tax V/s. Sandeep C. Dugad, being Income Tax Appeal No.285 of 2005 and the said appeal has been dismissed by us today i.e. 8[th] September 2011. Thus, the decision of the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal holding that the first block assessment order was time-barred has attained finality. 4.Once it is held that the first block assessment order itself was barred by limitation, then the second block assessment order passed by the assessing officer, pursuant to the directions given by the Commissioner of Income Tax (Appeals), cannot be sustained. 5.In these circumstances, the decision of the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal holding that the second block assessment order was null and void cannot be faulted. 6.In the result, we see no merit in the appeal. The appeal is hereby dismissed with no order as to costs. (K.K. Tated, J.) (J.P. Devadhar, J.)