Amended fiscal provision held inapplicable to an earlier assessment year; no referable question of law arose.

The amended section 20A of the Wealth-tax Act did not apply to a partition made on 9 February 1979 for assessment year 1979-80 because the amendment took effect from 1 April 1980 and Board Circular No. 281 of 1980 limited its operation to assessment year 1980-81 onwards. On that basis, the Tribunal was correct in declining to refer the matter, as no referable question of law arose under section 27(3). The operative principle is that an amended fiscal provision cannot govern an earlier assessment year where the statutory scheme or circular confines it to later years.

---

---

Issues: Whether the amended provisions of section 20A of the Wealth-tax Act, 1957 applied to a partition made on 9 February 1979 for the assessment year 1979-80, and whether any referable question of law arose for a direction under section 27(3) of the Wealth-tax Act, 1957.

Analysis: The amended section 20A came into force from 1 April 1980, and the Board's Circular No. 281 of 1980 clarified that the provision was to apply only from assessment year 1980-81 onwards. Since the case related to assessment year 1979-80, the amended provision could not be applied to the partition in question. In that view, the Tribunal was justified in refusing to refer the question, as no referable question of law arose from its order.

Conclusion: The amended provisions of section 20A were not applicable to the partition for assessment year 1979-80, and the Tribunal's refusal to make a reference was correct.

Final Conclusion: The petitions failed because the statutory amendment did not govern the relevant assessment year and no question of law requiring reference arose.

Ratio Decidendi: An amended fiscal provision is not applicable to an earlier assessment year where the governing circular or statutory scheme limits its operation to later years.

---