Income-tax reference jurisdiction is limited to questions of law raised and decided by the Tribunal; new issues cannot be introduced.

Under the income-tax reference scheme, a reference to the High Court is confined to questions of law that were raised before, considered by, and decided by the Tribunal in accordance with the prescribed procedure. The Tribunal cannot suo motu introduce a new question, and the High Court cannot enlarge the reference to cover an issue not dealt with by the Tribunal. The narrower construction of the reference jurisdiction was followed, and the broader view that any question fairly arising from the facts could be referred was rejected. Accordingly, a question of law not raised and decided by the Tribunal does not arise out of its order for reference purposes, and reference on that point is incompetent.

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Issues: Whether a reference to the High Court is competent on a question of law that was not raised before or considered by the Appellate Tribunal.

Analysis: The statutory scheme of the income-tax reference provisions required the assessee to move the Tribunal within time in the prescribed form and specify the questions of law on which reference was sought. The High Court's jurisdiction under the reference provisions was advisory and limited to questions raised, considered, and decided by the Tribunal or validly referred under the statutory procedure. The Tribunal had no power to raise a new question suo motu, and the High Court could not enlarge the reference by introducing a question not dealt with by the Tribunal. Authorities supporting the narrower construction were followed, while the broader view that any question fairly arising from the facts could be referred was rejected.

Conclusion: A question of law not raised and decided by the Tribunal does not arise out of its order for reference purposes, and the reference on that point is incompetent.

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