D.K. Jain, J.
This is an appeal by the assessed u/s 260A of the Income Tax Act, 1961 (for short ''the Act''), challenging the order, dated 17-8-2001, passed by the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal, Delhi Bench-C, New Delhi (for short ''the Tribunal'') in IT(SS)A No. 49/Delhi/96, pertaining to the block period ending 17-11-1995. According to the appellant, the impugned order involves the following substantial questions of law:
"1. Whether on facts and circumstances of the case the ITAT is correct in assessing amount of Rs. 14,88,784 u/s 158BC of the Income Tax Act, 1961 without invoking provisions of section 158BD of Income Tax Act, 1961 because "Annexure A- 11 " was not found in search at the premises of the petitioner and the petitioner has disowned this paper from the very beginning ?
2. Whether on facts and circumstances of the case assessment order is invalid it being u/s 158BC instead of 158BD which is separate and independent charging section ?
3. Whether on the facts and circumstances of the case the orders of the ITAT confirming the assessment of Rs. 14,88,784 is perverse and without any material, it having ignored relevant evidence which is clear from application u/s 254(2) filed with the ITAT?
4. Can assessment be made in the hands of petitioner on the basis of Annexure A- 11 which is neither found from the petitioner nor owned by him, in spite of the fact that the person to whom this paper belongs appeared before assessing officer and filed confirmation of parties in support of his owning this paper to which the assessing officer has no rebuttal or material?''
2. The material facts, in brief, giving rise to the present appeal are as follows :
The assessed, a private limited company, incorporated under the Companies Act, 1956, is engaged in the exports of handicrafts goods. On 17-11-1995 a search and seizure operation u/s 132 of the Act took place at the business premises of the assessed and the residences of its directors. During the course of search one of the documents, namely, Annexure A-11, in a tabular form, containing details of certain cash transactions, was found and seized.
3. After making some preliminary enquiries the assessing officer issued a notice to the assessed u/s 158BC of the Act, directing it to file its return for the block period ending 17-11-1995. In deference to the said notice, return was filed declaring nil income.
4. During the course of the assessment proceedings, the assessed was asked to explain the entries regarding the cash transactions, reflected in the upper portion of the said document. The assessed explained the said entries, inter alia, stating that the paper showing entries of Rs.1,75,000, Rs.10,62,000 and others have no relation with the assessed; the assessed who had in his employment an accountant was learning computer operations and it is by chance that during practice he fined certain figures to test his ability and the print taken out by him was seized by department; and these entries do not pertain to any business transactions which have nowhere been signed or confirmed by the assessed.
5. However, subsequently, resiling from the afore-noted Explanation, the assessed attempted to explain the said entries by producing one Babu Lal Shiv Bhagwan Goenka, a resident of Bombay and closely related to Ved Prakash, one of the directors of the company. Statement of said Goenka was recorded by the assessing officer, wherein he stated that the said entries were made by the accountant of the assessed in respect of certain transactions which he had conducted for sale of diamonds worth Rs. 15 lakhs, brought by him to Delhi. He, however, admitted that he was not assessed to Income Tax. Not being satisfied with the Explanation furnished by the assessed, the assessing officer added the entire amount of Rs. 14,88,754 reflected on the said document, in respect of certain transactions, as the undisclosed income of the assessed.
6. Against the assessment so framed, the assessed preferred an appeal to the Tribunal. By the impugned order, the Tribunal has dismissed the appeal, Hence the present appeal.
7. Assailing the impugned order, learned counsel for the assessed has strenuously urged that though the document, Annexure A-11, was found from the possession of Ved Prakash Gupta but the afore-mentioned addition on account of unexplained expenditure, on the basis of the said document, made in the hands of the assessed-company, cannot be sustained. The submission is that since the alleged incriminating document did not pertain to the assessed-company, the provisions of section 158BC of the Act were not attracted insofar as the assessed was concerned and, Therefore, the assessment for the block period is null and void. It is, thus, urged that the order of the Tribunal involves substantial questions of law.
8. On a plain reading of the relevant provisions contained in Chapter XIV-B of the Act, inserted by the Finance Act, 1995, we do not find any substance in the contention urged on behalf of the assessed.
9. Chapter XIV-B lays down special procedure for assessment of cases where a search is conducted u/s 132 of the Act or books of account, other documents, etc., are requisitioned u/s 132A of the Act after 30-5-1995. Section 158B is a definition section and gives definitions of the expressions "Block Period" and "undisclosed income"; section 158BA makes a provision with regard to assessment of undisclosed income as a result of search initiated or requisition made after 30-6-1995; section 158BB relates to computation of undisclosed income of the block period and section 158BC lays down the procedure for block assessment and section 158BD provides for assessment of undisclosed income of any other person. In the present case, we are not concerned with the other provisions contained in the chapter.
10. Section 158BA opens with a non obstinate clause and, Therefore, enacts a provision of overriding nature so as to prevail over any other provisions of the Act. It provides that where after 30-6-1995, a search is initiated u/s 132 or books of account, other documents or any asset etc., are requisitioned u/s 132A of the Act in the case of any person, the assessing officer shall proceed to assess the undisclosed income in accordance with the provisions of Chapter XIV-B. Section 158BC, with which we are concerned in the instant case, lays down the procedure, which the assessing officer is required to follow, where any search has been conducted u/s 132 or requisition of the documents etc., mentioned therein is made u/s 132A. Therefore, the prerequisite for initiation of proceedings for assessment under the Chapter is a search u/s 132 or requisition of books of account, etc., and not the quantification of the "undisclosed income". Section 158BD is an enabling provision for bringing to tax any undisclosed income belonging to any person, other than the person with respect to whom search was conducted u/s 132.
11. In the present case, while rejecting the argument that the provisions of section 158BC of the Act were not applicable, the Tribunal has observed that it was never the case of the assessed that the document in question (Annexure A-11) was not recovered from its business premises or that it did not belong to it or that the entries regarding expenditure aggregating to Rs.14,88,754 were not made by its employee; vide letter dated 7-11-1996 the assessed had categorically accepted that the entries in question were made by its accountant, though for some other purpose; again on 15-11-1996 the assessed reiterated the same Explanation and an affidavit of the accountant was filed stating that the figures mentioned on the document were imaginary figures; this Explanation was again retracted and one Babulal Goenka was produced to own the said entries, which, according to Goenka were again typed by assessed''s accountant. The Tribunal found that the assessed had knowingly and admittedly given different Explanations in respect of the same document and, Therefore, its yet another Explanation that the subject transactions, though typed by its accountant, were made by the said Goenka lacked credence. It is pertinent to note that the assessed had not only owned up the document but had also explained the cheque transactions reflected in the lower portion of the same very document. In view of the factual scenario projected above, we unhesitatingly affirm the view taken by the Tribunal that section 158BC had been correctly invoked in the case of the assessed company and that section 158BD of the Act had no application in the matter.
12. For the foregoing reasons, we are of the view that this appeal by the assessed is wholly misconceived, as no question of law of general public importance arises or that the issue raised is such that it poses difficulty in answering it or that the issue is capable of an alternative view. As noted supra, the view of the Tribunal is based on clear provisions of law, causing no ambiguity. Thus, no substantial question of law, which is the sine qua non for the exercise of power u/s 260A of the Act arises from the impugned order.
13. We accordingly decline to entertain the appeal. Dismissed.
