Receiver liability for income-tax arrears upheld where the same receiver had also been assessed for the relevant years.

Proceeding against a receiver for recovery of income-tax arrears was permitted where the same person, Bibhuti Bhusan Sen, had again been appointed receiver and had been one of the assessees for the relevant assessment years. In those circumstances, the issue of proceeding against a later receiver who had not been assessed did not arise, and the broader construction of section 41(2) of the Indian Income-tax Act, 1922 was left undecided. The appeals succeeded.

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Issues: Whether the Revenue could be permitted to proceed against Bibhuti Bhusan Sen, who had been assessed as receiver, for recovery of the arrears of income-tax relating to the firm's income, and whether any question of substitution of a subsequent receiver still arose.

Analysis: The appeals were disposed of on the short ground that Bibhuti Bhusan Sen had again been appointed receiver in place of the successor receiver and had himself been one of the assessees on whom assessments had been made for the relevant assessment years. In that situation, the difficulty relating to proceeding against a later receiver who had not been assessed did not arise, and it became unnecessary to decide the wider construction of section 41(2) of the Indian Income-tax Act, 1922.

Conclusion: Permission was warranted to proceed against Bibhuti Bhusan Sen as receiver for recovery of the tax dues, and the appeals succeeded.

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