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" SECTION 122 OF INCOME TAX ORDINANCE, 2001     SECTION 122 OF INCOME TAX ORDINANCE, 2001   A lethal weapon in the hands of Revenue against the Taxpayer   By   Shahbaz Butt, Advocate Supreme Court of Pakistan   Since inception of the Income Tax Ordinance, 2001, the provision of section 122 of the Ordinance of 2001 through process of evolution has under went almost 22 amendments through different Finance Acts, Ordinances and even though statutory regulatory orders issued by the Federal Government purportedly in exercise of power under section 240 of the Ordinance, 2001.   The scope of this section is two fold, firstly, it empowers the Commissioner to amend or further amend the orders treated to be issued under section 120 (deemed assessments) or orders made or issued under section 121 (ex parte assessments/best judgment assessment) or to amend an order passed under section 122-C (provisional assessment orders), secondly, the Commissioner can exercise the amendment powers in two eventualities viz., (a) under -section 122(5), where any income which was chargeable to tax has escaped assessment or total income has been under assessed or assessed at too low a rate or has been subjected to an excessive relief or refund and any amount which under a head of income has been mis-classified. The power is qualified with the acquisition of definite information, which may be acquired from audit or otherwise, It is important to point out here that the connotation 'or otherwise' used in subsection (5) of section 122 is of immense importance and encompasses on enlargement of scope of acquisition of definite information. Thus visualize's that definite information may have been acquired for any source (b) under section 122(5A) - the power of amendment…