Kapur, J. - (1.)This is an appeal on a certificate of the High Court under Art.133 (1) (c) of the Constitution against the judgment and order of the High Court of Mysore passed in a petition under Art. 226 of the Constitution of India. The appellant before us is the 1st Additional Income-tax Officer and the respondent is the assessee, and the matter relates to the assessment year 1948-49 the accounting year being 1947-48.
(2.)The facts of this appeal are as follows:On November 27, 1956, a notice was issued to the respondent under S. 34 (1) (a) of the Indian Income-tax Act calling upon him to make a return on the ground that his income had escaped assessment for the assessment year ending 31st March, 1949. This notice was served on the respondent on November 29, 1956. The respondent objected that no notice under S. 34 of the Income-tax Act could be issued to him because of the lapse of eight years from the end of the accounting year. This objection was overruled and the respondent filed on June 12,1957 in the High Court of Mysore, a petition under Art. 226 of the Constitution for a writ of certiorari quashing the order made by the Income-tax Officer.
(3.)The High Court held on a construction of S. 34 of the Indian Income tax Act, that the wards "any year" as used in S. 34 (l) (a) mean not the assessment year but the accounting year. It is that question which is required to be decided in this appeal. Section 34 (1) (a) reads:- S. 34 (1) "If-
(a) the Income-tax Officer has reason to believe that by reason of the omission or failure on the part of an assessee to make a return of his income under section 22 for any year or to disclose fully and truly all material facts necessary for his assessment for that year, income, profits or gains chargeable:to income-tax have escaped assessment for that year, or have been under-assessed, or assessed at too low a rate, or have been made the subject of excessive relief under the Act, or excessive loss or depreciation allowance has been computed, or

(b) . . . .. . . . .. . .... . . ..:.. .. .. ... he may in cases falling under clause (a) at any time within eight years serve on the assessee, or if the assessee is a company, on the principal officer thereof, a notice containing all or any of the requirements which may be included in a notice under sub-section (2) of S. 22 and may proceed to assess or re-assess such income, profits or gains or recompute the loss or depreciation allowance; and the provisions of this Act shall so far as may be, apply accordingly as if the notice were a notice issued under that sub-section;".