COMMISSIONER OF INCOME TAX Vs. PARSUMRAM GHANASHYAMDAS

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THESE seven Civil Rules involve common questions of fact and law. They arise out of orders of assessment of the ITO but the rules relate to different periods of asessment. This common judgment of ours will, therefore, dispose of all the seven rules. It will be sufficient if we refer to one rule only.

(2.) THE application has been made by the department under Section 256(2) of the I.T. Act of 1961 (hereinafter referred to as "the Act"), requiring the Income-tax Appellate Tribunal, Gauhati Bench, Gauhati, to refer the following questions of law to this court for answer :

(3.) WHETHER the shares in profit of the members of the AOP are definite and ascertainable appears to be a finding of fact ; but that finding of fact depends on the true and correct interpretation of several clauses of the partnership deed including the Clauses 6 and 12 which fell for consideration before the Tribunal. It is a settled principle of law that the interpretation of material clauses of material documents is a question of law. The answer to the questions referred to above depended on the interpretation of the material clauses of the partnership deed as well as Section 26 of the Act. In our opinion, therefore, a question of law does arise out of the order of the Tribunal and we, therefore, direct the Tribunal to state the facts and refer the first question of law set out above for answer by this court.