Kalyan Jyoti Sengupta, J. - (1.) BY this writ petition, the petitioners have challenged the authorization issued by the Joint Commissioner of Income-tax (TDS), Range-21, Calcutta, empowering the inspectors of income-tax to make a survey under Section 133A of the Act in the office premises of the petitioners on February 22, 2000, and the survey by the inspectors of income-tax on the said date and also summons issued by respondent No. 1 under Section 131 of the Act dated March 28, 2000.
(2.) THE short facts of the case are as follows : The petitioner has been carrying on business of manufacture and sale of various food, household and medicinal products like purity barley, pearl barley, dettol, dettolin, steradent, brasso, silvo, etc. There are products, which are sold by the petitioners but not manufactured by it. In the usual course of its business, the petitioner from time to time issued debentures. The petitioner has to deduct income-tax at source from the payment made to the various persons and creditors including shareholders and debenture holders under Sections 194, 194A, 194C, 194-I, 194J and 200. The petitioner has to file returns. To pay interest against the aforesaid debentures the petitioner has to deduct tax on interest which is paid on debentures where the amount of such payment exceeds Rs. 2,500. After deduction the petitioner filed Form No. 25 with respondent No. 1. Similarly, the petitioner is required to deduct tax under Section 194 of the Act where payment of dividend exceeds Rs. 2,500. The aforesaid deduction of tax is made under Section 194 of the Income-tax Act wherever it is applicable and the same is paid under Section 200 of the Act and Form No. 26 duly filed with respondent No. 1. Section 115-O was introduced by the Finance Act, 1997, with effect from June 1, 1997. In view of the aforesaid Section, the petitioner was no longer required to deduct any tax from and out of the dividend or to file any Form No. 26 with effect from June 1, 1997. Similar deduction was made in the case of payment to the various contractors and sub-contractors where the payment exceeds Rs. 20,000 per contract and in this case the petitioner has to file Form No. 26C. The petitioner as such is a regular assessee and assessed by the Deputy Commissioner of Income-tax, Special Range-4. Therefore, respondent No. 1 is only the prescribed income-tax authority within the meaning of Section 206 of the said Act who has been designated by the Chief Commissioner of Income-tax under Rule 36A of the said rules. The petitioner duly filed returns of income under Section 139 of the said Act up to the assessment year 1999-2000. The petitioner has also been filing TDS returns as required under law.
(3.) MR.P. K. Pal, the learned senior advocate, in support of the writ petition contends that the prescribed income-tax authority under Section 206 of the Income-tax Act has no competence, authority, jurisdiction to make any enquiry, investigation, or authorise any person to cause any survey to be made under Section 133A of the Income-tax Act and/or issue any summons under Section 131 of the Income-tax Act, 1961, in respect of the prescribed returns under Section 206 of the Income-tax Act in view of the object and scheme of the Income-tax Act, 1961. Under Section 4(1) of the said Act being the charging provision, income-tax is payable by an assessee on its assessable total income of the previous year at the rate or rates prescribed by the Central Act which is the Finance Act passed in every year. Therefore, the total income of any particular assessee has to be computed as per the provisions of the Income-tax Act. In computing the total income certain incomes are not at all includible in the total income. Certain deductions are also allowed in computing the total income. Certain incomes of other persons are also included in the total income. Aggregation of income and setting off or carry forward of loss is also taken into account. There are certain special deductions for computing the total income. The rate of tax is fixed by the Finance Act each year. Chapter VIII which starts with Section 87 and ends with Section 89 deals with rebates and reliefs of the income-tax, Chapter IX which consists of Sections 90 and 91 deals with double taxation relief, Chapter X consists of Sections 92, 93 and 94 deals with special provisions relating to avoidance of tax.;