Applicability of section 21(4) under wealth tax law can raise a referable question of law on established facts.

Whether section 21(4) of the Wealth-tax Act, 1957 applied to the facts found by the Tribunal was treated as a question of law where the issue depended on the legal characterisation of the assessee-trust and the statutory conditions for attracting the provision. The court noted that deciding whether the provision is attracted on established facts involves legal inference, not a pure question of fact. The question was therefore held referable in law, and the Tribunal was directed to state a case on the applicability of section 21(4).

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Issues: Whether the applicability of section 21(4) of the Wealth-tax Act, 1957 to the facts found by the Tribunal raised a question of law requiring a reference to the High Court.

Analysis: The issue turned on whether the Tribunal's conclusion that section 21(4) did not apply was confined to facts or involved the legal characterisation of the assessee-trust and the conditions for applying section 21(4). The determination whether the statutory provision is attracted on the established facts was held to be a question of law fit for reference under the reference jurisdiction invoked.

Conclusion: The question was held to be referable in law, and the Tribunal was directed to state a case on whether section 21(4) of the Wealth-tax Act, 1957 was attracted.

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