Law: Wealth Tax Act, 1957

Section: 17,16A(2),35

Law: Estate Duty Act, 1953

Section: 59

Law: Income Tax Act, 1961

Section: 147

Wealth tax--- ----Reassessment---Information that wealth had escaped assessment---Audit objection would not constitute information---Reassessment based on audit objection is not valid---Indian Wealth Tax Act, 1957, S.17. Section 17 of the Wealth Tax Act, 1957, is in pari materia with section 147 of the Income Tax Act, 1961, and section 59 of the Estate Duty Act, 1953. The report of the Audit , Officer pertaining to the facts of valuation cannot furnish the basis for the reopening of an assessment. Indian and Eastern Newspaper Society v. CIT (1979) 119 ITR 996 (SC) and Ashoke Gupta v. Asstt. CED (1991) 188 ITR 715 (All.) applied. JUDGMENT A.P. MISRA J: --Since the aforesaid two writ petitions raise a common question, they are being disposed of finally by means of a common judgment after hearing learned counsel for the parties. In these two cases in spite of time being granted in the past to learned counsel for the Revenue no counter-affidavit has been filed. In fact, on April 16, 1991, the last order was passed for granting further, time to file counter-affidavit and no more, but even thereafter more than two years have already elapsed, no counter-affidavit has been filed, nor any application has been moved except for an oral request which was made today to grant further time. In fact more than 13 years have gone since the filing of the writ petition and no counter-affidavit has been filed. There is no justification to grant any further time and we are deciding these petitions finally only on the basis of the averments made in the writ petition itself after hearing learned counsel for the parties. Through the first writ petition, the petitioner seeks quashing of the assessment proceedings initiated under section 17 of the Wealth Tax Act for the assessment years 1976-77, 1977-78 and 1978-79 by means of the impugned notices dated March 6, 1980, and an order, dated April 4, 1981, reference to which is made in the letter for the Valuation Officer, which are Annexures-4, 5, 6 and 14 to the writ petition. Through the second writ petition, the petitioners seek quashing of the entire proceedings initiated under section 17 of the Wealth Tax Act for the assessment years…

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