MEWAR INDUSTRIES LIMITED Vs. COMMISSIONER OF INCOME TAX

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THIS is a reference under section 66(1) of the Indian Income-tax Act (Act XI of 1922 as amended) submitted by the Income-tax Appellate Tribunal (Delhi Bench). The assessee, Mewar Industries Ltd., is a public limited concern (in liquidation), having its registered office at Udaipur. The assessment years under consideration are 1950-51 and 1951-52, the previous years being the financial years 1949-50 and 1950-51. It is admitted that the previous years ended on 31st March, 1950, and 31st March, 1951, respectively. The main point for consideration in this reference is whether certain sums of money admittedly received by the assessee during the financial year aforesaid should be included in the income of the assessee for purposes of assessment.

(2.) WE feel constrained to observe - and we do so with the utmost deference to the members of the Tribunal - that much of the confusion in this case appears to have arisen because of the manner in which these cases were disposed of on appeal by the Tribunal in a brief and somewhat summary order. The Tribunal was simply content to observe : WE agree with the Appellate Assistant Commissioner that such commission accrued, and became payable, to the assessee in the two relevant accounting periods as indicated by the Appellate Assistant Commissioner and did not accrue or become payable on March 31, 1949, and March 31, 1950, respectively, as contended for by him. The reasons which the Appellate Assistant Commissioner has given in this behalf appear to us sound. The confusion was worse confounded when in the statement of case submitted by the Tribunal to this court it further opined : "Since the amounts under review were being included on accrual basis the occasion for finding whether or not such amounts could be included on receipt basis did not arise."