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1 - 7 of 7 (0.24 seconds)Section 54 in Income Tax Rules, 1962 [Entire Act]
Section 54 in The Indian Evidence Act, 1872 [Entire Act]
Kanteti Venkata Seshavatharam And Ors. vs Chapalamadugu Venkata Rangayya And ... on 8 July, 1946
The particularity with which this clause is phrased gives no room for including the provisions of the Evidence Act as comprised in the category of provisions of other law, because the Evidence Act, it may be pointed out, is ruled out as not coming in the way of operation of prohibition. The non obstante clause in sub-section (1) of section 54 could be said to make this clear beyond any doubt. In sub-section (1), it is stated that the prohibition will operate notwithstanding anything contained in the Indian Evidence Act of 1872. Therefore, to have to construe that the "provisions of any law" referred to in clause (m) also includes the provisions of the Evidence Act will be to reckon with the very status which has been kept out of the way in sub-clause (1). Furthermore, clause (m) specifically mentions that the only question, viz., whether a person has or has not been assessed to income-tax in any particular year or years is in dispute or, when any provisions of law require the same to be established, the information shall be disclosed at the instance of the appropriate authority. Therefore the requirements, according to this clause, are that the question must directly concern the establishment of the assessment of the person to income-tax and not that it must incidentally arise for consideration as in this case for determining whether, by reason of joint assessment, the defendants are members of a joint family. It cannot also be said in the instant case that the question of assessment to income-tax has been made specifically the basis of decision as it is the case where section 26 of the Madras Agriculturists Relief Act applied. If this is born in mind, it supplies the key for understanding the decision in Seshavatharam v. Venkata Rangayya. There, the question directly in issue was whether the defendants were agriculturists; and having regard to the mode of proof prescribed by the provisions of section 26 of the Madras Agriculturists Relief Act, The court came to the conclusion that the fact whether the defendants were assessed to the income-tax, which was in issue and had to be established, could be done in that manner as the provisions of section 26 of the Madras Agriculturists Relief Act provided therefor. Therefore, that decision, it could be seen, was within the purview of the language of clause (m). But it cannot be said that the same is the position in regard to the instant case.
Sm. Banarsi Devi vs Sm. Janki Devi on 28 November, 1957
Mr. T. Ramachandra Rao, The learned counsel for the petitioner, on the other hand relied upon the ruling in Banarsi Devi v. Janki Devi. There, the Patna High Court had to consider whether the plaintiff was entitled to call for the production of the originals of the income-tax returns from the authorities to prove that the defendants constituted a Mitakshara joint family. It may be observed that in that case the plaintiff even produced certified copies of those returns which he had with him. Even then, a Division Bench of High Court ruled that since the object of section 54 seems to be that the matters referred to in such documents should be kept as strictly confidential between the assessee and the income-tax department, so that the assessee may not hesitate in placing before the department even confidential matters for purposes of assessment without fear of disclosure of those matters, the whole object of the section would be frustrated if such documents are permitted to be put in evidence by persons other than the assessee.
Muniyammal, Proprietrix, Salem vs Third Additional Income-Tax Officer, ... on 6 January, 1960
It could be said that the ruling in Muniyammal v. Third Additional Income-tax Officer, is to the similar effect. The consensus of judicial opinion thus is that unless required by any statute for the purpose of proving particularly that a person has or has not been assessed to income-tax, the proof of other matters generally falling under the Evidence Act would not be covered by the exception enumerated in clause (m) of sub-section (3) of section 54.
Additional Income-Tax Officer, ... vs Golla Narayanamma And Ors. on 23 January, 1958
It is also found that in the decision in Additional Income-tax Officer, Anantapur v. Golla Narayanamma, Subba Rao C.J. held the same view.
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