Complete statement of case required before surplus on share sales can be tested for revenue-tax treatment.

A statement of case must disclose all material facts accepted by the Tribunal so the legal question can be answered on a complete factual basis. Where the facts are unclear, including the basis of share sales and whether they amount to a mere investment variation or business dealing in shares, the taxability of the surplus cannot be determined. The surplus from sale of shares and securities is taxable as revenue income only if the assessee is found to be dealing in shares as a business. The document states that the incomplete reference required supplementation before the tax issue could be determined on the merits.

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Issues: Whether the statement of case was sufficient to enable determination of the taxability of the surplus arising from sale of shares and securities.

Analysis: The available statement of case did not clearly disclose all facts accepted by the Appellate Tribunal, particularly the basis on which the assessee sold the McLeod & Co. shares and whether the sales amounted to mere variation of investments or to dealing in shares. The Court held that a statement of case must contain all material facts found or accepted by the Tribunal, so that the legal question can be answered on a complete factual foundation. Without clarity on the Tribunal's findings, the Court could not decide whether the surplus was taxable as revenue income under the Income-tax Act.

Conclusion: The statement of case was incomplete and required supplementation; the tax question was not answered on the merits.

Final Conclusion: The matter was sent back to the Tribunal for an amended statement of case so that the legal issue could be determined after the relevant facts were properly recorded.

Ratio Decidendi: A reference cannot be answered unless the statement of case contains all material facts accepted by the Tribunal, and a surplus from sale of investments is taxable as revenue income only if the assessee is found to be dealing in shares as business.

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