SC relief to Mayawati family in income tax matters

NEW DELHI: UP Chief Minister Mayawati's family on Monday got a major relief in an income tax matter with the Supreme Court staying a provision in law that allows the revenue authority to begin assessment of tax liability in a case which could not be decided in the Settlement Commission within the stipulated one-year period. "There shall be an interim stay of the provision for abatement of the proceedings relating to the petitioner pending before the Settlement Commission," a Bench comprising Justices R V Raveendran and Dalveer Bhandari said. The Bench stayed section 245 (H) of the Income Tax Act which allowed the Assessing Officer to proceed with the matter if the proceedings before the Settlement Commission did not conclude within a year of making an application before it. The Bench also issued notices to the Centre, Income Tax Department and the Income Tax Settlement Commission on the petition by Dayal challenging the constitutional validity of the provisions in the Act allowing proceedings by the assessing officer if the Commission did not pass orders within the stipulated period. It said the pendency of the petition filed by Chief Minister's father Prabhu Dayal "will not come in the way of the Income Tax Settlement Commission in disposing of the matter before it in accordance with law". Dayal's application for proceeding before the Settlement Commission under section 245-C of Act in which he had disclosed the tax liability since 2002 was pending and the issue could not be settled within the stipulated period of one year which ended on March 31. Dayal's counsel Harish Salve along with Shail Kumar Dwivedi had contended that since the proceedings before the Settlement Commission has not concluded there was apprehension that the assessing officer could proceed against him on the basis of documents placed under section 245-C.
THE TIMES OF INDIA;31 Mar 2008, 2050 hrs IST , PTI