- (1.) The appellant impugns the order of a division bench of the High court of Himachal Pradesh whereby his writ petition was dismissed.
(2.) The appellant, an assessee under the Income Tax Act, 1961 disclosed income from 14 trucks under a voluntary disclosure scheme. That scheme, it is submitted, made provisions prohibiting the use of disclosures thereunder in subsequent assessment proceedings. The disclosure made by the assessee was accepted on 31/3/1966. On 28/2/1973, the ITO issued a reassessment order under Section 148 of the Income Tax Act, pertaining to Assessment Years 1959-60 to 1962-63 and brought to tax additional amounts which, he held, were income from trucks. The assessee appealed and contended that the ITO had no power to invoke the relevant provisions of the Income Tax Act relating to the said assessment years because his disclosures under the voluntary disclosure scheme were protected. Not only did the Appellate Assistant Commissioner reject the appeal but, after notice, enhanced the amount found by the ITO to have been income which had escaped assessment.
(3.) The assessee thereupon appealed to the Income Tax Appellate tribunal. On 22/5/1975, the assessee wrote to the tribunal that its representative had suffered a heart attack and sought an adjournment. A reply was received declining the adjournment. It is the case of the assessee that the reply was received too late for him to make alternative arrangements to appear before the tribunal. Accordingly, on 31/5/1975 the tribunal proceeded ex parte. It deleted the addition made by the AAC but, it is the assessee's case, ignored his contention that the reassessment proceedings were invalid. An application for restoration of the appeals was made to the tribunal. It was dismissed on 31/8/1976.;