Firm registration forms must match the firm's constitution; clerical naming errors do not defeat a valid application.

Under section 185 of the Income-tax Act, read with Rule 22 of the Income-tax Rules, Form No. 11 is the correct registration form where the firm's constitution and partners' shares remain unchanged during the previous year; Form No. 11A applies only when a change has occurred. A clerical mention of the branch office name instead of the head office name does not by itself invalidate the application, because registration concerns the firm and its partners, not the firm name alone. Where the partners, their shares, and signatures are clearly shown, the application remains valid and no disqualifying defect arises.

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Issues: Whether the assessee-firm's application for registration in Form No. 11 for assessment year 1974-75 was defective for being filed in the wrong form or for mentioning the branch office name instead of the head office name, and whether the application was liable to be entertained as a valid one for registration.

Analysis: Under section 185 of the Income-tax Act, 1961, read with Rule 22 of the Income-tax Rules, 1962, Form No. 11 applies where there is no change in the constitution of the firm or the shares of the partners during the previous year, while Form No. 11A is required only where such change has occurred. On the facts, the firm had the same constitution during the relevant previous year, so Form No. 11 was the proper form. The second objection was held to be untenable because registration is of the firm and not of the firm name; the firm name is only a collective description, while the relevant factors are the partners, their shares, and the genuineness of the firm. A clerical mention of the branch office name in the application did not create a legal defect when the partners and their shares were clearly set out and all partners had signed the application.

Conclusion: The application was a valid one, no disqualifying defect existed, and the Income-tax Officer was not justified in refusing registration.

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