The Commissioner of Income-tax is justified in setting aside the assessments and directing the Income-tax Officer to make fresh assessments in accordance with law, if the assessments made by the Income-tax Officer are erroneous in so far as they are prejudicial to the interests of the revenue.

( 1 ) IN this reference under Section 66 (1) of the Indian Income-tax Act, 1922, the Income-tax Appellate Tribunal has referred the following question of law to this court :"whether, on the facts and in the circumstances of the case, the Tribunal was justified in maintaining the order of the Commissioner of Income-tax under Section 33b of the Indian Income-tax Act, 1922, setting aside the assessments and directing the Income-tax Officer to make fresh assessments in accordance with law?"

( 2 ) THE facts relating to this reference may be briefly noted. The relevant assessment years are 1956-57 to 1961-62. The assessee is an individual and the relevant previous years are the financial years 1955-56 to 1960-61.

( 3 ) THE assessee was a new assessee who had not hitherto been assessed to income-tax and suo motu filed returns for the assessment years 1955-56 to 1961-62 before the Income-tax Officer, "b" Ward, 24-Parganas. All the returns were filed on the same date, i. e. , the 18th September, 1961. The address of the assessee was given as 15, Basantalal Shah Road, Tollygunge. On the same day, i. e. , the 18th September, 1961, the Income-tax Officer, "b" Ward, 24-Parganas, directed the issue of notices under Section 23 (2) of the Income-tax Act, 1922, fixing the hearing on the 21st September, 1961 According to the notings in the record the notices were served on Shri P. C. Pande, income-tax practitioner, but no office copies thereof were in the records. The Income-tax Appellate Tribunal in hearing the appeal out of which the reference arises had recorded the fact that the originals of these notices were not produced before the Income-tax Appellate Tribunal at the time of the hearing of the appeals.

( 4 ) TO continue the narrative, on the 21st September, 1961, Mr. P. C. Pande attended at the Income-tax Officer completed the assessments on the same date for the seven years from 1955-56 to 1961-62. The demand notices, challans and the assessments orders were served on the assessee's representative on the very next date, i. e. , 22nd September, 1961.

( 5 ) THE income returned by the assessee was 4,200 for the assessment year 1955-56. Rs. 4,500 for each of the assessment years 1956-57 to 1960-61 and Rs. 4,403 for the assessment year 1961-62. According to the assessment orders the assessee's business was in pawn-broking and money-lending. The Income-tax Officer completed the assessment after making a uniform addition of Rs. 1,200 in each of the assessment.

( 6 ) ON the 18th July, 1963, the Commissioner of Income-tax issued a notice to the assessee proposing to take action under Section 33b of the Indian Income-tax Act, 1922, for all the aforesaid assessment years from 1955-56 to 1961-62. The notice issued by the Commissioner of Income-tax has not been included in the paper-book but it is to be found as part of the order of the Income-tax Appellate Tribunal in paragraph 4 thereof. The relevant portion may be set out hereunder :"on calling for and examining the records of your case for the assessment years 1955-56, 1956-57, 1957-58, 1958-59, 1959-60, 1960-61 and, 1961-62 and other connected records, I consider that the orders of assessment passed by the Income-tax Officer, "b" Ward, Dt. 24-Parganas on 21st September, 1961, are erroneous in so far as they are prejudicial to the interests of the revenue for the following reasons amongst others. 2. Enquiries made have revealed that you neither resided nor carried on any business at the Tollygunge address shown in the returns. Also the Income-tax Officer was not justified in accepting the initial capital, the acquisition and sale of gold ornaments, the income from business, etc. , without any enquiry or evidence whatsoever. 3. I, therefore, propose to pass such orders thereon as the circumstances of the case justify after giving you an opportunity of being heard under the powers vested in me under Section 33b of the Indian Income-tax Act, 1922. The cases will be heard at 11 a