JUDGMENT

M.C. Desai, C.J. - The respondent in this special appeal, which is a company, admittedly derived agricultural income during the assessment year in question viz. 1361 Fasli and was liable to be assessed to tax on it under Sec. 3 of the U.P. Agricultural Income-tax Act. Under sub-Sec. (2) of Sec. 15 of the Act it is the duty of principal officer of every company to furnish to the Collector every year a return of its agricultural income during the previous year. Sub-Sec. (3) provides that the assessing authority may serve a notice requiring a person, whose agricultural income is liable to be taxed, to furnish to him within a certain time a return in the prescribed form setting forth along with such other particulars as may be provided for in the notice) his total agricultural income during the previous year. Sub-Sec. (3-B), is to the effect that the assessing authority should send along with a notice under sub-Sec. (3) a statement showing the provisional estimate of the agricultural income prepared in accordance with the provisions of clause (a) of sub-sec. 6(2). sub-Sec. (4) reads as follows:-

"If any person having furnished a return under sub-Sec. (1), (2) or (3) discovers any omission or wrong statement therein he may furnish a return or a revised return, as the case may be, at any time before the assessment is made and any return so made shall be deemed to be made in due time and under this section."

Sec. 6 lays down the method of computation of the agricultural income; it is to be computed at the option of the assessee in accordance with Cl. (a) or Cl. (b) of sub-Sec. (2). The option of having the income computed in accordance with Cl. (a) will be referred to as option (a) and the other option, as option (b). The assessment procedure is laid down in Sec. 16. If a return filed under Sec. 15 is found by the assessing authority to be correct and complete it is to assess the income accordingly and determine the tax payable by the assessee. If it has reason to believe that it is incorrect or incomplete it is required by sub-Sec. (2) to serve a notice upon the assessee calling upon him to produce evidence in support of it. After seeing the evidence produced by the assessee, it should make an order in writing assessing the income and determine the tax payable thereon. If the principal officer of a company fails to make a return or fails to comply with a notice issued by the assessing authority or to produce evidence, the assessing authority is authorised to assess it to the best of its judgment with regard to the statement if any sent under Sec. 15 (3-B) notwithstanding any option exercised under Sec. 6(1). Rule 5 made by the State Government in exercise of the powers conferred under the Act lays down:-

"An assessee shall, along with his return of income, file a declaration in Form A. I. T. 2 indicating his option under sub-Sec. (1) of Sec. 6." Under Rule 6, the declaration is to be preserved by the assessing authority in a separate guard file. The form A. I. T. 2 is as follows:-

"In pursuance of Sec. 6 (1), I..............do hereby declare that I have elected the method of computation of agricultural income provided by Sec. 6(2) (a)/6 (2) (b) and have computed my income accordingly."

2. The respondent assesses filed its return on 27-11-54 under Sec. 15(2) and attached to it a declaration -selecting option (b). The assessing authority served upon it the notice referred to in Sec. 15(3) on 7-4-1955 and attached to the notice a provisional estimate of its income computed in accordance with option (a). In the meantime on 4-4-1955 the assessee discovering some mistake in its return filed a revised return, still computing the income in accordance with option (b). In this return it claimed further deductions on account of expenses. The revised return was not believed by the assessing authority to be correct or complete with the result that it served upon it a notice, as required by Sec. 16(2). On 14-4-1955, in reply, the assessee f