O.CHINNAPPA REDDY,J. - (1.) THE assessee, a liquor contractor for Mandi Dabwali, for the year ending March 31, 1966, returned an income of Rs. 282 for the assessment year 1966-67. The Income-tax Officer rejected the books produced by the assessee and estimated the sales at Rs. 11,50,000 (as against Rs, 10,78,858 shown in the books) and estimated the profit at 7/12 per cent. of the total estimated sales. This came to Rs. 87,750. The appeal preferred to the Appellate Assistant Commissioner and the further appeal to the Income-tax Appellate Tribunal were rejected. In arriving at the figure of 71/2 per cent. the Appellate Assistant Commissioner took into consideration the case of M/s. Charanjit Lal and Co. , who was assessed for the year 1964-65 in respect of their income as liquor contractors for Mandi Dabwali. . The Tribunal has now referred to us the following question for our consideration : "whether, on the facts and in the circumstances of the case, the rate of profit at 11/2 per cent. on the turnover was justifiably applied by the Income-tax Appellate Tribunal on the turnover of the petitioner ?"
(2.) SHRI Bhagirath Dass, learned counsel for the petitioner, argued that the revenue would have been justified in taking into account the comparable cases of other assessees for the current year or the assessee's own assessments of earlier years, if the assessee was carrying on the same business in those years. But, he said, the revenue was not justified in taking into account the case of a different assessee for an earlier year. He submitted that because of Indo-Pakistan war in September, 1965, the assessee's sales had gone down considerably and it was useless to take the case of previous years into consideration. We see no substance in the submission of Shri Bhagirath Dass. In the absence of better material the revenue was well justified in taking into consideration the case relating to a liquor contractor of the very area in respect of an earlier year. That was the best material available and if there was anything to be said against it, it was open to the assessee to raise the necessary ground before the Tribunal. Nothing was said against taking into consideration the case of the other liquor contractor for the assessment year 1964-65. All that was said before the Tribunal was that there was a slump in sales because of the Indo-Pakistan war in 1965. From the facts and figures as mentioned in the Tribunal's order it does not appear that there was any particular slump after September, 1965, though there appears to be some slump in September, 1965, only.
(3.) IN fact it was in December, 1965, that there were peak sales of the assessee. It is also revealed from the order of the Appellate Assistant Commissioner that the sales of the contractor for the year 1964-65 amounted to Rs. 4,70,000 only. Therefore, the assessee's sales, which even according to him, amounted to Rs. 10,78,898 were not in any manner hit by the Indo-Pakistan war. The question referred to us is, therefore, answered in the affirmative.;