Appellate authority has every right to remand a matter on a specific point if the mistake of the authority below is limited to that very point and, in such a situation, there is no necessity to pass an order of a fresh assessment on all points

Surajmall Lalchand & Sons Vs ACIT- XI (Calcutta High Court)- In the case of CIT vs. H. P. State Forest Corporation Ltd (supra), a Division Bench of Himachal Pradesh High Court was considering a case where the accounts of the assessee, a State Government Corporation, not having been audited by the office of the Comptroller and Auditor General, the Assessing Officer treated the assessee’s return as a non est and passed order of assessment under Section 144 of the Act.

The CIT (A) affirmed such order but on a further appeal, the Tribunal set aside the assessment and directed assessment with audited accounts submitted by the assessee with further direction the income to be assessed was to be at a figure less than that declared by the assessee in its return. On a rectification application by the assessee, the Tribunal allowed the application but directed that the income should not be assessed at a figure assessed by the Assessing Officer under Section 144 of the Act. In an appeal under Section 260A of the Act, the High Court held that when the Tribunal directed the assessment de novo, there was no justification of putting embargo as to the upper or lower limit of income to be assessed. In the case before us, the Tribunal while remanding the matter has rectified the mistake of the authorities below and has indicated the right approach which as an appellate authority the Tribunal is free to point out to an errant subordinate authority. We, thus, find that the said decision does not help the appellant in any way.

IN THE HIGH COURT AT CALCUTTA
Special Jurisdiction (Income-tax)

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