Tax deduction from awarded amount was impermissible where the decree did not authorise withholding before payment.

An award that has attained finality is enforceable as a judgment-debt, and the award-debtor cannot unilaterally reduce the decretal amount by deducting tax at source unless the award or decree expressly permits it. The cited tax provisions did not authorise withholding part of the awarded sum before payment to the award-holder, so the deduction was impermissible and the award-holder was entitled to receive the full balance amount.

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Issues: Whether the award-debtor could deduct tax deducted at source from the awarded amount payable to the award-holder and remit only the balance.

Analysis: The award had attained finality and the amount payable under it stood in the nature of a judgment-debt. On the settled legal position, a judgment-debtor cannot satisfy a third party's liability by making deductions from the decretal amount unless the decree itself authorises such deduction. The cited tax provisions did not permit the award-debtor to withhold part of the awarded sum by way of tax deducted at source before payment to the award-holder.

Conclusion: The deduction of tax deducted at source from the awarded amount was impermissible and the award-holder was entitled to receive the entire balance amount.

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