NILAMANI GHOSH AND PARTNERS Vs. INCOME TAX OFFICER

JUDGEMENT

(1.) MESSRS. Nilamani Ghosh and Partners was a firm with five partners constituted under a deed dated April 1, 1963, and had been assessed as a registered firm up to assessment year 1967-68. On September 14, 1967, Nilamani Ghosh died. Two of the existing partners of the firm retired. With effect from October 1, 1967, a new partnership was constituted with three partners being Smt. Kusum Ghosh, wife of late Nilamani Ghosh, Biswanath Ghosh arid Kasinath Raut. For the assessment year 1968-69, one consolidated return was filed. The Income-tax Officer, however, split it up and made two assessments one from April 1, 1967, up to September 30, 1967, and the other from October 1, 1967, up to March 31, 1968. For the first period, he allowed the registration, to be continued. For the second period with which this writ application is actually concerned, the Income-tax Officer did not entertain the application for registration and completed the assessment by treating the partners as an unregistered firm.

(2.) THE assessee preferred a first appeal wherein non-grant of registration was raised. Having lost before the Appellate Assistant Commissioner, the assessee pursued the matter before the Tribunal and there too the decision having gone against if, the following question had been referred to this court at the assessee's instance under Section 256(1) of the Income-tax Act: "Whether, on the facts and in the circumstances of the case, the Appellate Tribunal was right in holding that in an appeal under Section 246(c) of the Income-tax Act, 1961, the issue regarding the registration of the firm cannot be raised by igitating the question of status, taken in the assessment order ?"