M M IPOH Vs. COMMISSIONER OF INCOME TAX

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE question of law referred for the determination of this court under section 66(1) of the Act is, "Whether the assessments on the association of persons for the assessment years 1951-52 to 1956-57 are valid."

(2.) IN respect of the three rubber estates and the house properties allotted to the father, Meyyappa, separate books of account were opened under the vilasam."M.M." IN 1941, another son, Chettiappa, was born to Meyyappa. Thereafter, the father and this minor son constituted the Hindu undivided family in respect of the properties allotted to Meyyappa at the partition.

(3.) AN association of persons has not been defined in the Act, and we have necessarily to turn to decided cases in order to ascertain in what circumstances a body of persons can be assessed as an association of persons. In one of the earliest cases, B.N. Elias, In re, certain persons who jointly purchased properties in definite shares executed a general power-of-attorney in favour of one of themselves to manage all their affairs in relation to these and other properties belonging to them. They objected to an assessment on them as an association of individuals. Derbyshire C.J., after observing that the words "association of individuals" would have to be construed in their plain ordinary meaning, proceeded to say (page 415) :