Aggregate salary deduction limit under section 16 bars separate standard deductions from multiple employers beyond the statutory ceiling.

The amended section 16, read with the inserted Explanation, requires salary deductions to be computed on the aggregate salary where income is due from or paid by more than one employer, and the deduction cannot exceed the statutory ceiling. Because the amendment was stated to operate retrospectively from 1 April 1975 and applied to the assessment year in question, separate standard deductions for salaries from different employers could not be claimed to cross that limit. The assessee was therefore not entitled to separate deductions under section 16 in respect of multiple employers.

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Issues: Whether the assessee was entitled to separate deductions under section 16 of the Income-tax Act, 1961 in respect of salary received from multiple employers, even though the total deductions exceeded the statutory ceiling.

Analysis: The question turned on the effect of the amendment to section 16 inserting an Explanation declaring that, where salary is due from or paid by more than one employer, the deduction must be computed with reference to the aggregate salary and cannot exceed the amount specified by the clause. The amendment was stated to operate retrospectively from 1 April 1975, and was applicable to the assessment year in question. In view of that clarification, separate standard deductions on salaries from different employers could not be allowed so as to exceed the prescribed limit.

Conclusion: The assessee was not entitled to separate deductions under section 16 on salary from the three employers, and the question was answered in the negative, against the assessee.

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