RAJESH BALIA, J. - (1.) ASSESSEE -appellant under s. 271B for failure on the part of the assessee to get its accounts audited and obtain the report of such audit before the date prescribed under s. 44AB. at Rs. 35,38,266.58 and receipts for job work done by him at Rs. 5,57,879.40.
(2.) SINCE the gross receipt of the assessee from the sales and the job work done by him exceeded Rs. 40 lakhs, the AO opined that the assessee was under an obligation to get the accounts audited.
(3.) THE assessee's contention was that since under s. 44AB, three expressions (i) 'total sales', (ii) 'turnover' and (iii) 'gross receipts' are used by legislature each of them are independent criteria and one does not overlap the other. According to the assessee, since the three expressions are related to three types of business activities, it be considered that under each independent criterion unless the "total sale" or "turnover" or "gross receipts other than the sale or turnover" independently have exceeded Rs. 40 lakhs, he was not liable statutorily to have his accounts audited. Since in the case of assessee neither "turnover" nor "total sales" nor "gross receipts" excluding "turnover" or "sales" to be considered independently did not exceed Rs. 40 lakhs, he was not liable to have his accounts audited for asst. yr. 1994 -95. Since for subsequent year he fell into criterion he has got his accounts duly audited and since then he has been getting his accounts duly audited every year.;