Definite and ascertainable shares required for separate property assessment; pending inheritance dispute prevents separate assessment under the provision.

Section 9(3) requires property co-owners to have definite and ascertainable shares before income from the property is assessed separately; where shares are contested by ongoing succession litigation and the applicable inheritance law (customary versus Muhammadan) is unresolved, those shares are not fixed or exact and the provision does not apply. As a result, tax authorities cannot lawfully treat a single heir as sole owner or exclude other heirs from assessment while the dispute remains pending. Operative effect: separate assessment under the provision is not attracted until shares are finally determined.

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Issues: Whether, on the facts of this case, Section 9(3) of the Income-tax Act, 1922 is attracted so as to require separate assessments of property income on the persons owning the properties.

Analysis: Section 9(3) provides that where property is owned by two or more persons and their respective shares are definite and ascertainable, such persons shall not be assessed as an association of persons and each owner's share of income shall be included in his total income. Although shares may be ascertainable in theory under applicable inheritance rules, the statutory requirement demands that the shares be definite in the sense of being fixed, exact and clear. Ongoing civil litigation between co-heirs over succession and the question whether customary law or Muhammadan law governs the inheritance prevents the shares being treated as fixed or definite. In those circumstances the tax authorities could not lawfully treat the assessee as the sole individual owner or arbitrarily exclude other heirs from assessment.

Conclusion: Section 9(3) is not attracted on these facts; the requirement of definite and ascertainable shares is not satisfied while the inheritance dispute remains pending. The question referred is answered in the negative. The decision is against the assessee.

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