Section 25(3) relief confined to discontinued business income; property income assessments do not qualify.

Section 25(3) of the Income-tax Act, 1922 applied only where tax had earlier been charged under the 1918 Act on business, profession or vocation that was later discontinued. Property income was treated by the Act as a separate head from business profits, and the computation provisions kept those heads distinct. On that construction, an assessee assessed only on property income could not claim the relief. The question was answered in the negative, and the assessee was denied the benefit of Section 25(3).

---

---

Issues: Whether the assessee family, having been assessed only in respect of income from property and not in respect of business, profession or vocation, was entitled to the benefit of Section 25(3) of the Income-tax Act, 1922.

Analysis: The relief under Section 25(3) was confined to cases where tax had at any time been charged under the Indian Income-tax Act, 1918, on business, profession or vocation that was later discontinued. The statutory language was plain and could not be extended by reference to supposed anomalies or consequences. The scheme of the Income-tax Act, 1922 treated income from property as a separate head from profits and gains of business, profession or vocation, and the computation provisions also kept them distinct. On that construction, Section 25(3) had no application where the assessment related only to property income.

Conclusion: The assessee was not entitled to the benefit of Section 25(3), and the question referred was answered in the negative.

---