The
circular of the Board dt. 28.06.1965 No. 17 (XL-36), provides for inspection
fees and fees for certified copies of assessment and other records. This
circular clears that the assessee or his A/R are entitled to inspect as well as
obtain certified copies of assessment and other records.
Section
35 of the Indian Evidence Act, 1872. Relevancy of entry
in public record, made in performance of duty - An entry in any public or other
official book, register or record, stating a fact in issue or relevant fact, and
made by a public servant in the
discharge of his official duty, or by any other person in performance of a duty
specially enjoined by the law of the country in which such book, register or
record is kept, is itself a relevant fact .
Section
74. Public documents
The following
documents are Public documents-
(i)
Documents forming the acts, or records of the acts
(a) Of the
sovereign authority,
(ii) Of Official
bodies and the Tribunals, and
(iii)
Of public officers, legislative,
judicial and executive, of any part of India or of the Commonwealth, or of a
foreign country.
Section 76. Certified copies of Public Documents
Every public officer having the
custody of a public document, which any person has a right to inspect, shall
give that person on demand a copy of it on payment of the legal fees therefor
together with a certificate written at the foot of such copy that it is a true
copy of such document or part thereof, as the case may be, and such certificate
shall be dated and subscribed by such officers with his name and his official
title, and shall be sealed whenever such officer is authorized by law to make
use of a seal, and such copies so certified shall be called certified copies.
Thus in view of the provisions of Indian Evidence
Act the order sheets are relevant
evidence in connection with any assessment, penalty, appeal, revision,
rectification or any other proceedings taken against assessee or concerned
parties.
The order sheets are public documents within
the meaning of
S.74 of the Evidence Act .
Shankarlal Khaitan vs. ACIT (Orissa High
Court)-
Certified copy of Order Sheet: It is the right of every
assessee to seek certified copies of entire order sheet of any assessment
proceeding on payment of charges.
The certified
copies have to be handed over forthwith on payment:-
The petitioner has filed the present writ application
being aggrieved by non-supply of the certified copies of the order sheets for
the assessment year 2010-11 2011-12 2012-13 2013- 14 2014-15 & 2015-16 and
the purported refusal on the part of the authorities concerned to entertain the
application dated 8.2.2017 under Annexure-1 Series.
Mr. Acharya learned Senior Standing Counsel on behalf of
the Income Tax Department submits that the application form was incomplete
inasmuch as it did not contain the details of the specific order for which
application has been sought nor the necessary costs have been deposited.
Having heard the learned counsel for the respective
parties we observe that it is the right of every assessee
to seek for the
certified copies of entire order sheet of any assessment
proceeding. While seeking for such copies even if details have not been
provided however since the entire order sheet has been sought for it is open
for the authorities to compute whatever is the amount payable for providing
such certified copies and issue notice and demand the petitioner to deposit the
same.
On such deposit the certified copies as entitled shall
be handed over forthwith. In such background we direct opposite party no.1 to
act in tune with the above observation/direction of ours.
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