Commissioner of Income Tax vs D. Lakshminarayanapathi

R. Jayasimha Babu, J.—Though there is no limitation on the exercise of the appellate power in the statute on the ground that the assessee had invoked the revisional power unsuccessfully, it is contended for the Revenue that such a limitation should be read into the provision dealing with appeals under the Income Tax Act. There is no provision in the Act in express terms, which supports the arguments so advanced by the Revenue. It is not disputed that the provisions dealing with the appellate authorities do not bar an appellant from invoking the jurisdiction, if he had invoked revisional jurisdiction, even though for invoking revisional jurisdiction, it is a pre-condition that the appellate jurisdiction should not have been invoked.

The argument advanced before us is that by inferential reasoning we should hold that if there is a limitation on exercise of revisional power a similar limitation should be read into the exercise of the appellate power. It does not require any authority to hold that it is not the province of the court to rewrite the law on the ground that the provision should have been worded in a different manner in order to make it seemingly consistent with some other provision. Moreover, it is wholly unnecessary for Parliament to impose the same kind of restriction for invoking different kinds of jurisdiction. It is open to the law-maker to provide more than one remedy to the aggrieved party and so long as such remedies are available, the aggrieved parties can certainly invoke them.

The Tribunal has rightly held that the assessee, notwithstanding his unsuccessful effort at having the order revised, could still file an appeal as invoking the revisional jurisdiction could not constitute a bar to the filing of an appeal. It is for the Legislature to impose such a bar if it considers it necessary to do so.

We, therefore, find no error in the order of the Tribunal. We answer the question as to "whether, on the facts and in the circumstances of the case, the Appellate Tribunal was right in holding that the Appellate Assistant Commissioner was justified in entertaining the assessee''s appeal against the assessment even though the Commissioner of Income Tax had passed an order u/s 264 against the assessee and holding that the provisions of Section 154 were applicable and a revision was not barred by limitation" in favour of the assessee and against the Revenue. No costs.