Court-appointed liquidator remuneration treated as salary, allowing income-tax relief under the statutory provision.

Commission received by a court-appointed official liquidator was treated as remuneration for holding office, not as professional earnings merely because the liquidator was also a lawyer. The Court held that such commission fell within the head of salary under Section 7 of the Income-tax Act, 1922, since the liquidator was an office-holder appointed under the Companies Act and paid remuneration as directed by the Court. Income could not be assessed under professional earnings or other sources on these facts, and Section 60(2) relief was therefore available.

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Issues: Whether commission received by an official liquidator appointed by the Court was assessable under the head salary and whether it therefore attracted relief under Section 60(2) of the Income-tax Act, 1922.

Analysis: An official liquidator is an office-holder appointed by the Court under the Companies Act and is entitled to salary or remuneration by way of percentage or otherwise as the Court directs. The commission paid to such a liquidator was held to be remuneration received in lieu of salary and not professional earnings merely because the liquidator happened to be a lawyer by profession. The Court rejected the view that the income could be brought under the heads of professional earnings or other sources, and treated Section 7 as the governing provision for all persons holding office and receiving remuneration from an employer or public body within the statutory language then in force.

Conclusion: The commission was assessable under the head salary under Section 7 of the Income-tax Act, 1922, and the assessee was entitled to claim relief under Section 60(2).

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