Deputy Commissioner of Income Tax v. Simplex Concrete Piles (India) Ltd.
2012-09-11
MADAN B.LOKUR, S.H.KAPADIA
body2012
DigiLaw.ai
ORDER : Civil Appeal No. 2329 of 2006 and Civil Appeal No. 6404 of 2012 @ SLP (C) No. 18237 of 2006 1. Heard learned counsel on both sides. Leave granted. 2. We see no error in the observation made by the Division Bench of the High Court in the impugned judgement Simplex Concrete Piles (India) Ltd. v. CIT, (2003) 183 CTR 47 (Cal), that once limitation period of four years provided under Section 147/149(1A) of the Income Tax Act, 1961 (for short, "the Act") expires then the question of re-opening by the Department does not arise. In any event, at the relevant time, when the assessment order got completed, the law as declared by the jurisdictional High Court, was that the civil construction work carried out by the assessee would be entitled to the benefit of Section 80-HH of the Act, which view was squarely reversed in the case of CIT v. N.C. Budharaja and Co., 1994 Supp (1) SCC 280 : (1993) 204 ITR 412 . The subsequent reversal of the legal position by the judgment of the Supreme Court does not authorise the Department to re-open the assessment, which stood closed on the basis of the law, as it stood at the relevant time. 3. The civil appeals are, accordingly, dismissed. No order as to costs. Civil Appeals Nos. 2331 and 2330 of 2006 4. Since the tax amount is meagre, the civil appeals are dismissed. No order as to costs.