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Income tax department cannot reassess Arjun Singh's mansion, court told

The income tax department could not reopen the assessment of the valuation of the Kerva mansion of senior Congress leader and former Union minister Arjun Singh and his income tax and wealth tax returns for 1985-1988, the Madhya Pradesh high court has been told.

Singh's counsel Kapil Sibal made this submission before Justice D P S Chouhan yesterday. The judge is hearing Singh's petition challenging the reopening of the assessment by the income tax officials.

The court fixed Monday, September 7, as the next date of hearing when the income tax department could put its argument for reopening the valuation of the house and tax returns.

Sibal contended before the court that Singh had already submitted the necessary details about the house about ten years ago which was then accepted by the income tax authorities.

The income tax officials could not reopen assessment of the house and the income tax and wealth returns filed by him for the years 1985-86, 1986-87 and 1987-88 without disclosing any reasons, he pleaded.

Sibal said as per the provisions of the Income Tax Act, the respondents were bound to disclose reasons before undertaking reopening proceedings for assessment of the concerned years.

He charged the income tax officials with 'malafide' intentions.

He also submitted that Singh's Kerva mansion house had nothing to do with the ''Jain-hawala money'' as it was built much before the hawala case came to light. Moreover, he has already been acquitted in the hawala case by a Delhi court, he added.

UNI

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