# K. L. VARADARAJAN v. THE COMMISSIONER OF INCOME-TAX, MADRAS November 5, 1974

- **Citation:** [1975] 2 S.C.R. 597
- **Court:** Supreme Court of India
- **Decided:** 1974-11-05
- **Bench:** R. Khanna, A. C: Gupta
- **Source:** https://unisonlegal.in/judgment/supreme-court-of-india/k-l-varadarajan-v-the-commissioner-of-income-tax-madras-november-5-1974-6190
- **Pages:** 8

## Headnote

597
lJ
f11dia11 Income tax Act, 1922-:-Sec. 17 (!)-Proviso-Whether the words
"all assessments thereafter" includes original assessments and not reassessments
mad" under Sec. 34.
c
D
E
F
G
H
.
The ass~ssee, durin~ the relevant pe~i~d was studying abroad.
He derived
mcome during the penod by way of d!Vldend on shares and
interest
from
deposits.
The original assessments for the relevant years were completed on January
31, 1956, December 27, 1956 and February 28,
1958.
The residential status
adopted in those years was "resident and ordinarily resident person".
Income-
!ax and super.tax were calculated at the
rates
applicable
on
the
total
mcome.
In the course of the assessment proceedings for
the
assessment
year
1958-59, the assessee filed a declaration under sec. 17(1 \ of
the
Act
on
March 24, 1959 claiming to be assessed at rates appropriate to
his
total
world income. This assessment was completed on March 23, 1960 in the
status of a non.resident. The application under Sec. 17 ( 1) was rejected.
As the I. T. 0. found that the assessee was a non-resident in the 3 previous years endin1 on December 31, 1954 to December 31, 1956 and bu
total income had been assessed to income-tax at
the
normal
rates
a~d
further
as
he
had
failed
to
make
the
requisite
declaration
under
Sec.
17 (1 )
within
the
requisite
time,
the
I. T. 0.
was
of
the
view
that
the
earlier assessments
had
been made at a lower rate and
action under Sec. 34 of the Act was accordingly
taken and the
asses•ment<
for the above-mentioned 3 years were reopened and completed under
Sec.
23 (3) read with Sec. 34 of the Act. The status of the assessee was treated
as a non-resident. and bis total
income was brought to tax at the
maximum
rates.
According to the assessee, the omission on his
part
to
make
the
declaration earlier under Sec. 17(1) was due
to inadvertence
and ignorance
and requested the I.T.O. that he should be
taxed
at rates appropriate
to
his world income. The I. T. 0. rejected all the contentions of the assessee
and held against him.
On appeal, the Appellate Asstt. Commissioner and the Tribunal held that
the I.T.O.'s ·reasoning for not accepting
the
declaration
under Sec.
17(1)
was not correct and held ·against the revenue. A question was referred to
the High Court as to whether the declaration filed by the
assessee
under
Sec. 17 (I) in respect of the assessment year 1958-59 was operative
in. relation to the re-assessments also in respect of the assessment years
1955.56,
1956-51 and 1957-58.
The High Court held against the assessee and hence the appeal before this
Court.
Allowing the appeal,
HELD : (!) According to the second proviso to Section 17 ( 1 \ of
the
Act, once the assessee is allowed to make the declaration after the expiry of
the period specified "such declaration shall have
c.ffect in
relatir>n
to
the
assessment for the year in which the declaration is made (if such assessmen,t
had not been completed before such declaration) and all assessments thereafter. '
The words of the 5econd provisr> to Sec. 17<1) make it clear th't th: 'Jecl''.ation w0uld be operative not only for the
assessment for the year m which
the declaration is made if such assessment had not been completed
before
such declaration, but also all assessments to be made thereafter. The words
"all assessments thereafter" signify not only assessments for
t~e subsequent
598
SUPREME COURT REPORTS
[1975) 2 S.C.R.
years but also would cover assessments for the earlier years in
case
the
assessments for those earlier years are being made subsequent to the filinR
of the declaration. [600G-60!B]
(2) According to Sec. 2(8) of the Income tax Act, 1961,
the
words
"a">sessment" includes reassessment although such a definition was
not
th·~re
in the Act of 1922.
A. N. Lakshma11 Shenoy v. /.T.O., Bangalore &: Ors.
[1958] 34 !TR 275 and Commissioner of Income tax v. Khem (;hand Ramdas
A
[19381 6 !TR 414 referred to.
[601C]
B
(3) Further, in the context of Sect:on 17( I) of the Act also the word
"assessment" must i

## Text

A
K. L. VARADARAJAN
v.
THE COMMISSIONER OF INCOME-TAX, MADRAS
November 5, 1974 -
[H, R. KHANNA AND A. C: GUPTA JJ.)
597
lJ
f11dia11 Income tax Act, 1922-:-Sec. 17 (!)-Proviso-Whether the words
"all assessments thereafter" includes original assessments and not reassessments
mad" under Sec. 34.
c
D
E
F
G
H
.
The ass~ssee, durin~ the relevant pe~i~d was studying abroad.
He derived
mcome during the penod by way of d!Vldend on shares and
interest
from
deposits.
The original assessments for the relevant years were completed on January
31, 1956, December 27, 1956 and February 28,
1958.
The residential status
adopted in those years was "resident and ordinarily resident person".
Income-
!ax and super.tax were calculated at the
rates
applicable
on
the
total
mcome.
In the course of the assessment proceedings for
the
assessment
year
1958-59, the assessee filed a declaration under sec. 17(1 \ of
the
Act
on
March 24, 1959 claiming to be assessed at rates appropriate to
his
total
world income. This assessment was completed on March 23, 1960 in the
status of a non.resident. The application under Sec. 17 ( 1) was rejected.
As the I. T. 0. found that the assessee was a non-resident in the 3 previous years endin1 on December 31, 1954 to December 31, 1956 and bu
total income had been assessed to income-tax at
the
normal
rates
a~d
further
as
he
had
failed
to
make
the
requisite
declaration
under
Sec.
17 (1 )
within
the
requisite
time,
the
I. T. 0.
was
of
the
view
that
the
earlier assessments
had
been made at a lower rate and
action under Sec. 34 of the Act was accordingly
taken and the
asses•ment<
for the above-mentioned 3 years were reopened and completed under
Sec.
23 (3) read with Sec. 34 of the Act. The status of the assessee was treated
as a non-resident. and bis total
income was brought to tax at the
maximum
rates.
According to the assessee, the omission on his
part
to
make
the
declaration earlier under Sec. 17(1) was due
to inadvertence
and ignorance
and requested the I.T.O. that he should be
taxed
at rates appropriate
to
his world income. The I. T. 0. rejected all the contentions of the assessee
and held against him.
On appeal, the Appellate Asstt. Commissioner and the Tribunal held that
the I.T.O.'s ·reasoning for not accepting
the
declaration
under Sec.
17(1)
was not correct and held ·against the revenue. A question was referred to
the High Court as to whether the declaration filed by the
assessee
under
Sec. 17 (I) in respect of the assessment year 1958-59 was operative
in. relation to the re-assessments also in respect of the assessment years
1955.56,
1956-51 and 1957-58.
The High Court held against the assessee and hence the appeal before this
Court.
Allowing the appeal,
HELD : (!) According to the second proviso to Section 17 ( 1 \ of
the
Act, once the assessee is allowed to make the declaration after the expiry of
the period specified "such declaration shall have
c.ffect in
relatir>n
to
the
assessment for the year in which the declaration is made (if such assessmen,t
had not been completed before such declaration) and all assessments thereafter. '
The words of the 5econd provisr> to Sec. 17<1) make it clear th't th: 'Jecl''.ation w0uld be operative not only for the
assessment for the year m which
the declaration is made if such assessment had not been completed
before
such declaration, but also all assessments to be made thereafter. The words
"all assessments thereafter" signify not only assessments for
t~e subsequent
598
SUPREME COURT REPORTS
[1975) 2 S.C.R.
years but also would cover assessments for the earlier years in
case
the
assessments for those earlier years are being made subsequent to the filinR
of the declaration. [600G-60!B]
(2) According to Sec. 2(8) of the Income tax Act, 1961,
the
words
"a">sessment" includes reassessment although such a definition was
not
th·~re
in the Act of 1922.
A. N. Lakshma11 Shenoy v. /.T.O., Bangalore &: Ors.
[1958] 34 !TR 275 and Commissioner of Income tax v. Khem (;hand Ramdas
A
[19381 6 !TR 414 referred to.
[601C]
B
(3) Further, in the context of Sect:on 17( I) of the Act also the word
"assessment" must include "re-assessment under Sec. 34 of the Act;
and
to hold otherwise would result in an
anomalous
situation. It should
be
noicu tnat whenever the leg1slatme intended that
the
word
"assessment"
shou'd no! include reassessment, it used express words for the purpose. FBr
example, according to Sec. 67 of the Indian Income tax Act, 1922 no suit
shall be brought in any Civil Court to set aside or modify any assessment
made under the Act. It is obviou.s that the protection afforded by that secC
lion would be available not only for the original assessments but also for
reassessm~nts made under Sec. 34 of the Act, even though the word used
in the section is assessment and not reassessment c~c. [6020-1:'., u: 603C]
CIVIL APPELLATE JuRtsmcnoN : Civil A;Jpeals Nos. 1275 to 1277
of 1970.
(From the Judgment & Order dated the 2nd May, 1969 of the
Madras High Court in T.C. No. 41 of 1966.)
S. T. Desai, £or the appellant.
Hardyal Hardy and S. P. Nayar, for the respondent.
The Judgment of the Court was delivered by
KHANNA, J .-These three appeals by certificate are directed against
the judgment of the Madras High Court whereby the High
Court
answered the following question referred to it under section 66 ( 1) of
the lndian lnoome-tax Act, 1922 (hereinafter referred to as the Act)
in respect of assessment years 1955-56, 1956-57 and 1957-58 against
the assessee-appellant and in favour of the revenue :
"Whether the declaration filed by the assessee unde.
section 17 (1) in respect of the assessment year 1958-59
was operative in relation to the re-assessments in respect of
the previous years ending on 31-12-1954, 31-12-1955 and
31-12-1956 corresponding to the assessment years 1955-56,
1956~57 and 1957-58 ?"
The assessee during the relevant period was studying abroad. He
derived income during that pericd by way of dividend on shares and
interest from deposits.
The original assessments for the
relevant
years were completed on January 31, 1956, December 27, 1956 and
Feh::uary 28, 1958. The residential status adopted in those years
was "resident and ordinarily resident person".
Income-tax and supertax were calculated at the rates appltcable on the total income.
In
the course of the assessment proceedings for the
assessment
year
1958-59, corresponding. to the year ending on December 31, 1957,
~he assessee filed a declaration under section 17 ( 1) of the Act on
March 24, 1959 claiming to be assessed at rates appropriate to the
D
E
F
G
H
B
c
D
E
F
G
H
K. L. VARADAJl.AJAN v. c.r, T. (Khanna, J.)
599
total world income.
This assessment was completed en March 23,
1960 in the status of a "non-resident". The application under section
17 ( 1) was rejected.
As the income-tax officer found that the asseilsee was a non-resident in the three previous years ending on December
31, ·1954 to December 31, 1956 and his total income had been assessed
to income-tax at the normal rates and further as he had failed .to make
the requisite declaration under section 11 ( 1) within the requisite time,
the income-tax officer formed the view that the earlier assessments
had been made at a lower rate.
Action under secticn 34 of the Act
was accordingly taken by the income-tax officer and a'ssessments for
the above mentioned three years were reopened and completed under
section 23 ( 3) read with section 34 of the Act. The status of the
assessee was treated as that of a non-resident.
The assessee's declaratim under section 17( ll, which he had made in the course of assessment p:·Jceedings for the assessment year 1958-59, was rejected and
ignored and his total income was brought to tax at the maximum rate.s.
The assessee in the course of the proceedings for reassessment requested that the income during the three years in question should be
taxed at rates appropriate to his wc1rld income.
Accmding to
the
asscssec, the omission on his part to make the declaration earlier under
section 17 ( 1 ) was due to inadvertence and ignorance.
It was also
contended that as the assessments were being reopened and were thus
deemed to be pending f.or the earlier years, the assessee's declaration
made during the assessment prei=eedings for the year 195 8-59 should
be taken into account for the purpose of reassessments. The incometax officer rejected all the submissions.
According to the income-tax
officer, option had been exercised by the assessee after the prescribed
<late and it cciuld not have effect on the assessments for the three years
in question. The income-tax officer also referred to the first proviso
to section 17 (1 ) of the Act and said that the declaration could be
entertained only on the first occasion on which the assessee became
assessable.
The seccnd proviso, it was observed, would also not avail
the assessee.
The assessee went up in appeal to the Appellate Assistant Commissioner. It was contended inter alia on his behalf that the incometax officer was wrong in holding that the declaration under section
17 ( 1) could be entertained only on the first occasion when the perion
became assessable.
According tc1 the assessee, the declaration could
be accepted even later provided sufficien,t cause was shown for not
filing the decaration earlier.
The assessee further submitted that the
assessment as non-resident was made for the first time in respect of
assessment year 1958-59 and as section 34 proceedings were fresh proceedings the declaration made in 1958-59 ought to be accepted.
The
Appellate Assistant Commissioner held that the inceme-tax officer's
reasoning for not accepting the declaration under section 17 ( 1) was
not correct.
In this connection the Appellate Assistant Commis~ioner
referred to his. order in the appeal by the assessee for the assessment
year 1958-59 wherein he had held that the asscssee had sufficient
cause for net. filing the declaration under section 17 (1) when
the
assessee became first assessable. It was also held that the failure to
.file the declaration had not resulted in a reduction of tax liability.
600
SUPREME COURT REPORTS
(1975] 2 s.c.a.
The declaration filed on March 24, 1959 by the assessee, in the opinion
of the Appellate Assistant Commissioner, could be availed of for the
assessments for the three years in question as the assessment orders
conse4uent upon the reopening of assessments were being made subsequent to that date .
. The department went up in appeal to the Income-tax Appellate
Tnbunal against the order of the Appellate Assistant Commissioner.
The Tribunal accepted the reasoning of the Appellate Assistant Commissioner and dismissed the appeal.
On being moved by the Commissioner of Income-tax the Tribunal referred the question reproduced
above tc1 the High Court.
The High Court in answering the question
against the assessce referred to the expression "all assessments thereafter" in the two provisos to section 17 ( 1) of the Act and observed
that those words showed that the declaration could be availed of in
respect ct assessments for subsequent years and not in respect of
assessments made by the revenue in exercise of its power under section
34 of the Act.
The word ·~assessments" in the above expression, in
the opinion of the High Court, referred to only original assessments
and not to assessments made by the revenue in exercise cd' its power
under section 34 of the Act.
In appeal before us Mr. Desai on behalf of the assessee-appellant
has assailed the judgment of the High Court and has contended that
correct view of law was taken by the Appellate Assistant Commissioner
and the Tribunal.
~s against that Mr. ?ardy on behalf of the revenue
has suppcrted the view taken by the High Court.
~
.
After hearin& the learned counsel for the parties, we are of the
opinion that the submission made by Mr. Desai is well-founded. The
assessee, as mentioned earlier, filed ·the declaratio11 in the course of
assessment proceedings relating to the year 1958·59 on March 24"
1959. Although the above declaraticr.i was rejected by the incometax officer, the Appellate Assistant Commissioner on appeal in respect
of assessment for the assessment year 1958-59 held that there was
sufficient cause for the assessee in not making the declaration on the
first occasion on which he became assessable and that his failure to
make such declaraticin had not resulted in reducing his liability to tax
for any year.
The assessee was accordingly allowed to make the
declaration after the expiry of the prescribed period. According to
the second proviso to section 17 ( 1 ) of the Act, once the assessee is
allriwed to make the declarati•on after the expiry of the period specified
"such declaration shall have effect in relation to the assessment for
the year in which the declaration is made (if such assesstnent had
not been completed ·before such declaration) and all
assessments
thereafter",
The words of the second proviso to section 1 7 ( r) reproduced above m1k~ i• clear that the declaration would be operative
not only for the assessment for the year in which the declaration is
made if such assessment had not been completed before such declaration, but also for all assessments to be made thereafter. The words
"all assessments thereafter", in our opinion, signify nclt only assessments for the subsequent years but would also cover assessments for
A
E.
F
G
K
A
B
c
D
E
F
G
K. L. VARADARAJAN v. C.I.T. (Kha1111a, ].)
601
the earlier years. in case the assessments for those earlier yea.rs are
being made subsequent to the filing of the declaration.
The words
"all assessments thereafter" have a wide amplitude and we see no
cogent reascl!l for not giving them their natural meaning or for restricting their scope.
Those words would include within their ambit all
assessments made subsequent to the filing of the declaration and it
would be wrong to so construe them as if the legislature had used the
words '"all assessments for the subsequent years".
We are unable to subscribe tc1 the view taken by the High Court
that the assessments referred to in the words reproduced above mean
only the original assessments and not the reassessments made under·
section 34 of the Act.
According to section 2(8) of the Income-tax.
Act; 1961 the words "assessment" includes reassessment.
Althciugh.
such a definition was not there in the Act of 1922, the word "assessment" in the second proviso to section 17 ( 1) of the Act must necessarily, in our opinion, cover reassessment under section 34 cd' the· Act.
In the case of A. N. Lakshman Shenoy v. Income-tax Officer, Bangalore
& Ors. ( 1) this Court held that the word "assessment" in the Finance
Act, 1950 would include reassessment. It was observed tharthe collocation cd'. the words "levy, assessment and collection of income-tax"
showed that the word "assessment" had a comprehensive meaning so
as to cover reassessment.
The case of Commissioner of 1 ncome-tax
v. Khemclzand Ramdas(2) upon which reliance had been placed by the
revenue in Shenoy's case, as has also been dcne in the present case, was.
distinguished.
This Court referred to the observations of the Judicial
Committee in the case of Khemchand Ramdas and held that those·
observations lend no support to the view that the word "assessment"
must always bear a particular meaning in the _Inccime-tax Act.
Reliance in this context was placed upon the following observations of
the Judicial Committee :
"These two questions are so closely related to one another
that they can conveniently be
ccinsidered
together.
In
order to answer them it is essential to bear in mind the
method prescribed by the Act for making an assessment of
tax, using the word assessment in its comprehensive sense
as including the whole procedure for imposing liability upon
the taxpayer.
The method consists ctf the following steps.
In the first place, the taxable income of the taxpayer has
to be computed.
In the next place, the sum payable by him
on the 'basis of such computation has to be determined. Fmally, a notice of demand in the prescribed form, specifying
the sum so_ payable, has to be served upcl!l the taxpayer."
This Court further observed in Shenoy' s case :
"If the word 'assessment' is taken in its comprehensive sense,
as we think it should be taken in the context of section 13 ( 1)
H
of the Finance Act, 1950, it would include 're-assessment'
made under the provisions of the Act.
Such 're-assessment'
(l) [1958] 34 ITR 275.
(2) [1938] 6 ITR 414.
60 2
SUPREME COURT REPORTS
(1975] 2 s.c.R.
will without doubt come~ within the expression 'levy, assessment and collection of income-tax'. In his speech in Com·
171issioner for General Purposes of Income Tax for the City
of London v. Gibbs and Uthers( 1) Lord Simon has pointed
out that the word 'assessment' is used in the English Income
tax code in more than cine sense; and sometimes within the
bounds of the same section, two separate meanings elf the
word may be found.
One meaning is the fixing of the sum
taken to represent the actual profit and the other the actual
sum in tax which the taxpayer is liable to pay.
It has been contended before us that the Finance Act and
the Income-tax Act should be read together as forming one
code, and so read the words 'assessment' and 're-assessment'
acquire definite and distinct connotations. We are unable to
agree, for the reasons which we have already given, that
even if we read the <Finance Act along with the Income-tax
Act the word 'assessment' can be given a restricted meaning.
To repeat thme reasons the Income-tax Code itself uses the
word assessment in different senses, and in the context and
collocation of the words of the Finance Act, the word 'assessment' is capable of bearing
a comprehensive
meaning
only."
1n the context of section 1 7 ( 1)
c~ the Act the word "assessment"
must necessarily include reassessment under section 34 of the Act.
To hold otherwise would result in an anomalous situation. This can
best be illustrated bv taking a concrete case. An assessee files a
declaration under section 17 ( 1 ) elf the Act in respect of the assessment year 1955-56.
Supposing his assessment for the year 1956-57
is reopened and an order for reassessment is made.
In case
the
declaration made under section 17 (1) can be availed of only for the
original assessments and not for reassessments under section 34 of
the Act, the result would necessarily be that the declaration would
have to be excluded from consideration in making the reassesgment
for the year 1956-57 even though the dt:~laration had been filed much
earlier. This could hardly have been the intention elf the legislature.
The entire scheme of section 1 7 ( 1) as well as the context, in our
opinion. clearly shows ,that the word "assessment" in section 17 ( 1)
has been used in a comprehensive sense so as to include reassessment.
It may also be observed that there are indicaticms in the Act that
whenever the legislature intended that the word "assessment" should
not include reassessment, it used express words for the purpose. Section 33B of the Act empowers the Commissioner of Income-tax if he
considers any circler passed by the income-tax officer to be erroneous
and prejudicial to the interest of revenue to make inter alia an order.
A
B
c
D
E
F
G
after complying with the requtrements of that section. cancelling the
H
assessment and directing a fresh assessment.
Sub-section (2) of that
(I) [1942] A.C. 402 . .106.
B
c
D.
F
G
H
x. L. VARADARAJAN v. c.u. (Khanna, J.)
603
section makes it clear that no order can be made under that sectioa
to revise an order ct reassessment made under the provisions of sec·
tion 34.
If the order of assessment did not include an order of reassessment made under the provisions of section 34, there would have·
been hardly any necessity of making a provision in sub-sectic111 (2)
of section 33B that no order can be made under sub-section (1) of
tliat section to revise an orcier of reassessment made under the provisions of sectictn 34.
'
\~'~,1· '<> ......... . ....
According to section 67 of the Act, no suit shall be brought in any·
Civil Court to set aside or modify any assessment made under the
Act. It is obvious that the protection affqrded by that section would
be available not only for the onginai assessments but also
for
reassessments made under section 34 of the Act even though the word
used in the section· is assessment and not reassessment.
Likewise, the
fact that the legislature has used the word ''assessments" anll not
"reassessments" in the second proviso to section 17 ( 1) of the Aot
would not exclude the applicability of that proviso to cases of reassessments subsequent to the filing of the declaration,
The matter may also be looked at from another angle. Proceedin&s under section 34 of the Act can be initiated if the income>-ta.x.
officer has reason to believe that income, profits or gains chargeablo
to income-tax have escaped ·assessment for any year or have been·
under-assessed or assessed at too lciw a rate or have been made the
subject of excessive relief under the Act or excessive loss or deprociation allowance has been computed.
The first of the above fivo
contingencies deals with income, profits or gains chargeable tc1 incom~
tax escaping assessment.
In such an event the income-tax officcrwould after initiating proceedings under section 34 make assessmeR.t
of such income, profit or gain.
In the other four contingencies, the'.
circler made by the inconie-tax officer w6uld be for re-assessing such
income, profit or gain or re-computing the loss or depreciation allo"-
ance. If the view propounded on behalf of the revenue were to be
accepted that assessment does not include reassessment made undec
secfirn 34 of the Act, the result would be that the benefit of the declaration made under section 17 ( 1) of the Act, in case other conditions
are fulfilled, would be available only in the first contingency mentioned
above relating to escaped ·assessment and not in the remaining contingencies because they pertain to reasspsment. This would certaialy be anomalous for it would result in placing persons wh0se income
has escaped assessment in a better position compared to persons whoso
income has been under-assessed or assessed at too low a rate or has , )
been the subject of excessive relief under the Act or ia whose cases
604
SUPREME COURT REPORTS
[1975) 2 s.c.R.
excessive loss or depreciation allowance has been computed. This
A
could hardly have been the intention of the legislature.
We, therefore, accept these appeals, set aside the judgment of
the High Court and dis<:harge the answer given by it to the question
referred to it. The question reproduced above is answered in the
affirmative in favour of the assessee-appellant and against the res
venue. The assessee-appellant shall be entitled to his cqsts both in
this Couit as, well as in the High Court. One hearing fee.
s.c.
AppeQls allowed.