Income Tax Department

Ministry of Finance, Government of India

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Section 144

Best judgment assessment

Section

Section Number

144

Chapter

CHAPTER XIV - PROCEDURE FOR ASSESSMENT

Act

Income-tax Act, 1961

Year

1998

Best judgment assessment

Best judgment assessment
Best judgment assessment.
32 144.  33[(1)] If any person—
            ( a)       fails to make the return required 34[under sub-section (1) of section 139] and has not made a return or a revised return under sub-section (4) or sub-section (5) of that section, or
            ( b)       fails to comply with all the terms of a notice issued under sub-section (1) of section 142 35[or fails to comply with a direction issued under sub-section (2A) of that section], or
            ( c)        having made a return, fails to comply with all the terms of a notice issued under sub-section (2) of section 143,
the 36[Assessing] Officer, after taking into account all relevant material which the 36 [Assessing] Officer has gathered, 37[shall, after giving the assessee an oppor-tunity of being heard, make the assessment] of the total income or loss to the best of his judg­ment and determine the sum payable by the assessee 38[* * *] on the basis of such assessment :
39 [Provided that such opportunity shall be given by the Assessing Officer by serving a notice calling upon the assessee to show cause, on a date and time to be specified in the notice, why the assessment should not be completed to the best of his judgment :
Provided further that it shall not be necessary to give such opportunity in a case where a notice under sub-section (1) of section 142 has been issued prior to the making of an assessment under this section.]
40 [(2) The provisions of this section as they stood immediate­ly before their amendment by the Direct Tax Laws (Amendment) Act, 1987 (4 of 1988), shall apply to and in relation to any assess­ment for the assessment year commencing on the 1st day of April, 1988, or any earlier assessment year and references in this section to the other provisions of this Act shall be construed as references to those provisions as for the time being in force and applicable to the relevant assessment year.]

Footnotes