B.C.Mitra, J. - (1.) The short question involved in this application is the validity of the notice issued by the Income-tax Officer under Section 131 of the Income-tax Act, 1961, being a notice dated 1st May, 1964. By this notice the petitioner was called upon to attend personally at the office of the Income-tax Officer with all books of accounts for the years 1955, 1956, 1957 and 1958.
(2.) The petitioner contends that his assessments up to the assessment year 1961-62 have been duly completed and the tax due and payable in pursuance of the various assessment orders passed against him, had been paid by him and no amount of tax is due from him. The petitioner, however, has filed his return for the assessment years 1962-63 and 1963-64.
(3.) The point raised by Mr. D. Pai, appearing for the petitioner, is that section 142 of the Income-tax Act, 1961 (hereinafter referred to as "the Act"), deals with the powers of the Income-tax Officer to direct an assessee to produce books of accounts and also to furnish in writing information on such maters as the Income-tax Officer may require. But this power of the Income-tax Officer, Mr. Pal argued, was subject to the power imposed by Clause (b) of the proviso to Sub-section (1) of Section 142. Clause (b) of the proviso provides that the Income-tax Officer shall not require the production of any accounts relating to a period more than 3 years prior to the previous year. Relying upon this proviso, Mr. Pal argued that the only pending assessment of his client was subsequent to the year 1961-62, up to which year the assessment has been completed, and, therefore, under the terms of the said proviso, the Income-tax Officer could not call for the production of the books of accounts for the years 1955, 1956, 1957 and 1958. It was argued that it was entirely beyond the competence of the Income-tax Officer to direct the petitioner to produce the said books. The assessments for the years 1962-63 and 1963-64 are pending, but for the assessment for the year 1962-63 the Income-tax Officer had no right or power, it was argued, to call for the books of accounts for the years 1955, 1956, 1957 and 1958. It was strenuously argued by Mr. Pal that Section 142 of the Act deals with the question of enquiry before the assessment and as that was the only matter with which the Income-tax Officer could deal, the notice requiring the petitioner to produce the account books for the years mentioned above is wholly illegal and void and, therefore, it should be struck down.;