Judgement

Appeal (No. 27 of 1939) from a judgment of the High Court (February 24, 1938) on a reference made under s. 66, sub-s. 1, of the Indian Income-tax Act, 1922.

The sole question in this appeal was whether it was a condition precedent to the operation of s. 34 of the Indian Income-tax Act, 1922, that the Income-tax Officer should hold a quasi-judicial inquiry to determine whether in fact profits had escaped assessment, or had been assessed at too low a rate.

Law. Rep. 67 Ind. App. 239 ( 1939- 1940) Commissioner of Income-Tax V. Messrs. Mahaliram Ramjeedas 70

The relevant statutory provisions, the facts, and the terms of the reference to the High Court appear from the judgment of the Judicial Committee.

The High Court (Derbyshire C.J., Khundkar and Mukherjea JJ.), in a judgment delivered by the Chief Justice, were of opinion that the condition precedent in the Indian Income-tax Act was that income had escaped, which implied that the Income-tax Officer had decided that income had escaped, and that that could only be a quasi-judicial decision by the Income-tax Officer, which involved giving the assessee an opportunity of being heard before the decision was made. In their opinion