Substantial compliance in firm registration forms defeated objection over loss shares and schedule entry requirements.

Registration of a firm was not defective where the application substantially complied with the prescribed form: column 6 required entry of each partner's share in profits or loss, and Note 2 required only the letter "P" against a partner entitled to profits but not liable for losses. No further specification of the other partners' loss shares was necessary, and the note that the minors were admitted to the benefits of partnership was sufficient. Part B of the schedule was held applicable only when the application was made after the close of the relevant previous year; as the application was filed before that date, its omission did not invalidate the form. The question was answered in favour of the assessee.

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Issues: Whether the application for registration of the firm was defective for not separately specifying the shares in losses of the partners other than the minors admitted to the benefits of partnership, and for not filling Part B of the schedule.

Analysis: The form required the share of each partner in the balance of profits or loss to be entered in column 6, and Note 2 required only that where a partner was entitled to profits but not liable for losses, the letter "P" be entered against his share. The Court held that no further entry of the remaining partners' loss shares was required by the form or the rules, and that the entries made by the assessee, together with the note that the minors were admitted to the benefits of partnership, substantially complied with the requirement. As to Part B of the schedule, the Court held that it applied only where the application was made after the end of the relevant previous year, whereas the present application was filed before the close of that year.

Conclusion: The application was not defective, and the question was answered in the negative in favour of the assessee.

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