(1.) IN this case, the INcome-tax Appellate Tribunal has referred the following question to this court for its opinion :
(2.) SHRI Lahoti appeared for the Commissioner of Income-tax, while SHRI J.P. Gupta appeared for the assessee. During the course of arguments in this case, learned counsel for the parties made a statement today that another Miscellaneous Civil Case No. 97 of 1983 in which a similar question was involved and in which also the assessee was represented by SHRI J.P. Gupta and SHRI Lahoti appeared for the Commissioner of Income-tax, be also taken up and decided along with the Miscellaneous Civil Case No. 43 of 1983. In view of the joint request made by learned counsel for both parties, we sent for the record of Miscellaneous Civil Case No. 97 of 1983 and are deciding the same along with this Miscellaneous Civil Case No. 43 of 1983.
(3.) THE questions of law referred in these two cases are apparently identical. Before answering these questions, it would be necessary to give in a nutshell the relevant facts in each of these two cases.