Foreign incorporated company treated as a company under surtax law and held liable to surtax.

A non-resident foreign incorporated entity assessed as a company under the Income-tax Act fell within the meaning of "company" in the Companies (Profits) Surtax Act because that Act adopted undefined expressions from the Income-tax Act and, in ordinary legal usage, company covered incorporated entities including non-residents. The assessee was therefore liable to surtax, and the reference was answered in favour of the Revenue.

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Issues: Whether a non-resident foreign incorporated company, assessed as a company under the Income-tax Act, 1961, fell within the meaning of "company" under section 2(9) of the Companies (Profits) Surtax Act, 1964 and was therefore liable to surtax.

Analysis: The expression "company" was not separately defined in the Surtax Act, and section 2(9) provided that undefined expressions in that Act would take their meaning from the Income-tax Act. Even apart from the residuary reference, the word "company" in ordinary and legal parlance covered incorporated companies, including non-resident companies. Since the assessee was shown to be a company assessable under the Income-tax Act, the statutory cross-reference brought it within the Surtax Act as well. The contention based on the special-purpose nature of the Income-tax Act definition did not assist the assessee on the facts found.

Conclusion: The assessee was a company within the meaning of the Surtax Act and was liable to be assessed to surtax; the answer to the reference was in favour of the Revenue.

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