' A common question of law is raised for our consideration in this appeal and the connected appeals, mentioned in the Appendix herewith, that are filed by the Revenue department, and are being decided together. The question attempted to be raised in all these appeals (with minor grammatical changes) are as follows:--- "Whether clause (b) of subsection (1) of section 17 of Wealth Tax Act, 1963 provides a time limit of four years from the end of the assessment year in which the net wealth was first assessable or two years from the date of filing of return or revised return, whichever is later"? or "Whether the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal was justified to hold that under the provisions of section 17-A(i)(b) of the Wealth Tax Act, 1963 the assessment was to be framed within two years from the date of filing of the return"?
2. In all these appeals, provisions of section 17-A(1)(b) of the Wealth Tax Act, 1963 were invoked by the appellant, after two years of the filing by the assessee/respondents of their wealth tax return or revised returns, as the case may be. The ITAT held the assessment to be beyond the period prescribed in section 17-AA(i)(b) of the Wealth tax Act, 1963, hence, invalid.
3. Legally identical questions of law were raised by the Revenue in I.T.A. No,254 of 1999 titled Commissioner of Income Tax, Lahore v. Messrs Product Services soliciting expression of opinion by this Court. Said appeals were heard by another Division Bench of this Court and in terms of consolidated judgment dated 3-5-2006 answered the above questions in the following terms:--- "The learned Income Tax Appellate Tribunal validly adjudged the assessments made beyond the period of two years from the dates of the returns or the revised as invalid and coram non judice."
4. The question as being raised through these appeals have already been answered by this Court in the term incorporated ibid, and in consonance thereof, same are being answered accordingly with the consequence that these appeals stand dismissed.