KARAMSEY GOVINDJI Vs. COMMISSIONER OF INCOME TAX

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE question raised on this reference relates to a debt written off by the assessee on the 12th of November, 1947, and the debt came to be written off under the following circumstances. The assessee advanced Rs. 10,000 to one B. A. Joshi, a film producer, on the 31st of December, 1945. In respect of this loan one G. N. Joshi was a guarantor. Thereafter the assessee advanced a further sum of Rs. 70,000 by driblets, but these loans were not guaranteed and they were advanced on demand promissory notes. The last of these advances was made on the 6th of June, 1946; and, as already pointed out, the debt was written off on the 12th of November, 1947, which is the last date of the year of account of the assessee relevant to the assessment year 1948 -49. The Department took the view that the debt had not become irrecoverable in Samvat year 2003, which is the year of account and the Tribunal agreed with the view of the Department.

(2.) THE question which we have to consider is whether there was evidence on the record for the finding of the Tribunal that the loan had not become irrecoverable in Samvat year 2003; and it cannot be said that there is no evidence to this effect. The most important piece of evidence is this, that Joshi the debtor had produced a film by name Ajka Farhad, which film was ready either in August, 1947, or in case, it was ready a short time before this loan was written off. It is difficult to take the view that, while the debtor had such a valuable asset with him which had not yet been exploited it could be said by the assessee that the loan advanced by him to the debtor had become irrecoverable. It is pointed out by the Appellate Assistant Commissioner that the assessee advanced these large amounts without any security because he expected to be repaid out of the exploitation of this film; and what the assessee does is to write off this loan before the debtor had even had a chance to exploit the film. It may be as has turned out subsequently, that the film was never released; but at the relevant date the assessee could not have knowledge that this film would not be released or that if it was exploited it would be a failure.

(3.) MR . Pandit has then asked us to consider the scheme of section 10 (2) (xi) and he says that, if Rs. 70,000 is written off by the assessee, the Income -tax Officer must estimate what part of this Rs. 70,000 is irrecoverable, and inasmuch as the Income -tax Officer to say that no part of the bad debt claimed by the assessee had become irrecoverable in the year of account, or he may say that part of it had become irrecoverable. In this case it is clear from his order that he takes the view that no part of this Rs. 70,000 had become irrecoverable. As the only question before us is whether there is evidence to support the finding of the Tribunal, it is difficult to accede to Mr. Pandit's contention that the finding is without any evidence.