- (1.) Leave granted.
(2.) The appellants are directors of a company known as M/s Raj- mohan Cashews Ltd. For the assessment years 1977-78 to 1982-83 assessments were completed on the company and a demand of Rs. 56 lakhs was raised. This amount was not paid for various reasons and so on 30/04/1989 the Deputy Commissioner passed an order holding the appellants, who are directors of the company, liable to pay the tax due from the company in view of the provisions of Section 179 of the Income Tax Act, 1961. The appellants preferred revision petitions before the Commissioner of Income Tax without success. At these two stages no point was taken on behalf of the appellants that the company was not a private limited company and, therefore, the proceedings under Section 179 of the Income Tax Act were unjustified. However, subsequently this objection was taken in an application under Section 154 of the Act filed before the Commissioner of Income Tax. But the Commissioner of Income tax rejected this contention on the ground that it had not been raised earlier and that there was no mistake apparent on the face of the record which needed rectification. Thereupon the appellants preferred writ petitions before the High court. The learned Single Judge of the High court dismissed the writ petitions and the appeals before the Division bench were also unsuccessful.
(3.) Before the Commissioner of Income Tax as well as before the high court the appellants had produced a letter received by the company from the Registrar of Companies recognising that the company has become a public limited company by virtue of Section 43-A (I-A) of the companies Act w. e. f. 1/10/1975. This letter was dated 26/02/1977. Before the High court it appears to have been represented on be- half of the Income Tax Department that no office copy of this letter was found in the office of the Registrar of Companies. The suggestion, therefore, was that this letter was a fabricated one. The High court, as already mentioned, dismissed the writ petitions.;