B.N.Banerjee, J. - (1.) The unending competition in ingenuity between the tax-gatherer and the taxpayer renders the application of the income-tax Law increasingly complicated. One such corn-plication requires to be resolved in this rule.
(2.) One Srimati Padmavati Thakur was an assesses, having some income assessable to tax. For the years 1957-58 to 1961-62, the said Srimati Thakur was assessed to income-tax under Section 23(4) of the Income-tax Act 1922, in the following manner :-- Assessment year Income assessed Tax demanded 1957-58 Rs. 16,000/- Rs. 1506/- 1958.59 Rs. 16,000/- Rs. 1506/- 1959-60 Rs 20,500/- Rs. 2770.66 p. 1960-61 Rs. 20,500/- Rs. 2687.33 p. 1961-82 Rs. 20,500/- Rs. 2604/- According to the petitioner two of the notices of demand were issued on August 28, 1961, and the remaining three on January 12, 1962. Srimati Thakur appears to have filed five appeals against the five assessments referred to above, before the Appellate Assistant Commissioner, 'B' Range, Calcutta. Before, however, the appeals were heard, Srimati Thakur died, on April 17, 1962, leaving her surviving as her heirs and legal representatives- (1) B.T Thakur - husband (2) N B Thakur | (3) A B.Thakur | sons (4) K.B Thakur | (5) Mrs Hirarani Paniekker | (6) Mrs Hansakumari Deb Burman. | daughters. (the petitioner) | On coming to know the death of the assessee appellant, the Income-tax Department wanted to ascertain from B.T. Thakur (the husband of the deceased assessee and the father of the petitioner) the names of the heirs of the deceased, by a letter dated August 28, 1962. B.T. Thakur replied to that letter, on September 20, 1962, and disclosed the names and addresses of all the heirs and legal representatives of the deceased assessee.
(3.) While the appeals were still pending, the petitioner alleges, certain notices under Section 154 of the Income-tax Act 1961 were received by B.T. Thakur above named, on May 1, 1963, wherein it was inter alia, stated that the respective assessments for the years 1959-60 and 1960-61 required to be rectified on account of mistakes apparent on the face of the records and it was proposed to enhance the assessments respectively by sums of Rs. 83.43 paise and Rs. 83.39 paise. The said notices were addressed to "Mr. B.T. Thakur and others, legal heirs of late Padmavati Thakur". The individual names of the legal representatives, the petitioner says were not mentioned in the notices. By the said notices, the persons notified were called upon to appear before the Income-tax Officer. 'E' Ward, Companies District II, on April 22, 1963. so as to be heard in person or to send beforehand written objections against the proposed rectification. Since the date fixed for hearing was already over, when the notices were received on May 1, 1963, nothing could be done and this fact was brought to the notice of the Income-tax Officer by B.T. Thakur. in his letter dated May 7, 1963. with a request to him not to take action in the matte'.;