Partnership registration under section 26A requires an operative deed during the relevant accounting year for assessment purposes.

Section 26A of the Indian Income-tax Act, 1922 requires a firm to be constituted under an instrument of partnership specifying the partners' shares, with the application made for the relevant assessment year. An oral partnership later reduced to writing may still fall within the provision, but the deed must be operative during the accounting year for which registration is claimed and must govern that year's profits. A later-executed deed cannot support registration for an earlier accounting period. On that basis, registration was unavailable where the instrument was not in force during the relevant year.

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Issues: Whether a firm is entitled to registration under section 26A of the Indian Income-tax Act, 1922, when it was originally formed orally and the instrument of partnership was executed only after the relevant accounting year.

Analysis: Section 26A, read with the registration rules, requires that the firm be constituted under an instrument of partnership specifying the partners' shares, that the application be properly made for the relevant assessment year, and that the partnership terms govern the accounting year for which registration is sought. The expression "constituted under an instrument of partnership" is not confined to a firm created only by the deed itself; it also covers a pre-existing oral partnership whose terms are subsequently reduced to writing. However, the instrument must be operative during the accounting year in respect of which registration is claimed, so that the profits of that year are governed by the registered deed and the statutory scheme of assessment and penalty can function as intended.

Conclusion: Registration under section 26A was not available on the facts because the partnership deed was not operative during the relevant accounting year. The refusal of registration was upheld and the appeals failed.

Ratio Decidendi: For registration of a firm under section 26A of the Indian Income-tax Act, 1922, the partnership instrument must be in force during the relevant accounting year and must govern that year's partnership; a later deed cannot support registration for an earlier accounting period, though an oral partnership later reduced to writing may otherwise fall within the section.

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