Bhaskar Bhattacharya, J. - (1.) By this writ application, the petitioner No. 1, an assessee under IT Act, 1961 (hereinafter referred to as the "Act"), has challenged a letter dt. 9th Sept., 1996, issued by respondent No. 1 by which the said respondent has asked the petitioner No. 1 to produce relevant books of account in order to substantiate the claim of exemption in support of the return under Section 206 of the Act for the financial year 1992-93.
(2.) Facts giving rise to filing of the instant writ application may be summarized thus : (a) The petitioner No. 1 is an income-tax assessee under the Act and the AO of the petitioner No. 1 who has the jurisdiction to make assessment under the Act is the Dy. CIT, Special Range-II, Calcutta, under the CIT, West Bengal-I. (b) The petitioner No. 1 had been deducting tax under Section 192 of the Act as also other relevant provisions and had been depositing the same under Section 200 of the Act, and also filed annual return in Form No. 24 under Section 206 of the Act for the financial year 1992-93. The petitioner No. 1 by a letter dt. 31st May, 1993, addressed to respondent No. 1, the prescribed IT authority, duly filed the annual return under Section 206 of the Act in Form No. 24 and the same was also received by respondent No. 1. (c) By the letter dt, 9th Sept., 1996, the said respondent No. 1 required the petitioner No. 1 to furnish various information's and further asked the petitioners to produce relevant books of account and documents in respect of such information which related to the tax deducted by the petitioner No. 1 under Section 192 of the Act. By the said letter, the respondent No. 1 alleged that there were discrepancies between the figures shown in the annual return in Form No. 24 for the financial year 1992-93 and those shown in the annual reports of the petitioner No. 1 for the said year. By the said letter the respondent No. 1 fixed 18th Sept., 1996, for hearing.
(3.) By this writ application, the writ petitioners have challenged the jurisdiction of respondent No. 1 to make enquiry or to require the petitioners to furnish any information or to produce any document asked for in the said letter dt. 9th Sept., 1996.;