- (1.) PURSUANT to the directions of the High Court made under Section 256(2) of the Income-tax Act, 1961 (briefly, "the Act"), the Income-tax Appellate Tribunal referred the following question relating to the assessment years 1976-77 and 1977-78 for the opinion of this court : "Whether, on the facts and in the circumstances of the case, the Tribunal was justified in directing the Appellate Assistant Commissioner to entertain the claim of the assessee for weighted deduction on additional items on which the claim was not made in the return before the Income-tax Officer ?"
(2.) THE Appellate Tribunal found that whereas for the assessment year 1976-77, the assessee claimed weighted deduction on the new items : (i) stationery ; (ii) postage ; and (iii) export promotion, for the assessment year 1977-78, weighted deduction under Section 35B was claimed only on one additional item, namely, salaries, before the Appellate Assistant Commissioner. The Appellate Assistant Commissioner did not entertain the additional claims of the assessee under Section 35B for both the assessment years. On further appeal, the Appellate Tribunal directed the Appellate Assistant Commissioner to entertain the claim of the assessee for weighted deduction on additional items for both the assessment years and then decide the claim of the assessee for weighted deduction afresh.
(3.) THE only question is whether the Appellate Tribunal was right in giving the aforesaid direction to the Appellate Assistant Commissioner. Sri Bharat Ji Agarwal, learned standing counsel, submits before us that the assessee failed to raise any claim in regard to the additional items before the Income-tax Officer for both the assessment years and also no material in support of the additional items was filed before the Income-tax Officer and, therefore, the Appellate Tribunal was not right in directing the Appellate Assistant Commissioner to entertain the additional items. It is not disputed that for both the assessment years, the claim for weighted deduction was set up by the assessee under Section 35B of the Act in respect of some of the items.;