- (1.) THE petitioners are a residuary non-banking company, and claims to be engaged in the business of offering small saving schemes to the public at large. In this writ petition, the petitioners challenge an order passed by the Settlement commission constituted under the provisions of Section 245b of the Income Tax act, 1961 rejecting the petitioners application for settlement. I sha, henceforth refer to this statute as "the Act". This order has been passed on 31st May 2007 but the petitioners claim to have received the order on 14th June 2007.
(2.) THE settlement application relates to three assessment years being 200405, 2005-06 and 2006-07. The petitioners had filed their return on income under the relevant provisions of the Act for the aforesaid three assessment years before the Assistant Commissioner of Income Tax Circle 3, Calcutta, who is impleaded as the respondent no. 3 in this writ petition. The said respondent had issued notices under Section 142 (1) and 143 (2) of the Act to the petitioners, with a questionnaire as enclosure to such notice pertaining to the assessment year 2004-05. It appears that the petitioners had been filing replies in parts to such questionnaire, which was issued on 7th August 2006.
(3.) THE petitioners decided to submit a settlement application for the said three assessment years in terms of Section 245c (1) of the Act in the prescribed form on 11th December 2006 in the office of the Income Tax Settlement commission, additional bench, being the first respondent in this writ petition. In the Settlement Application, certain additional incomes were disclosed in respect of the said three assessment years. Thereafter, the petitioners had submitted another letter on 1st May 2007 for the purpose of rectifying certain discrepancies in the case relating to the assessment year 2006-07, but this communication is not of much relevance for the purpose of adjudication of the present writ petition.;