Accrued right to carry forward speculation losses survives repeal unless the later tax statute clearly removes it.

An accrued right to carry forward and set off speculation losses under the repealed 1922 Act survived the transition to the 1961 Act because repeal does not extinguish vested rights unless the later statute does so expressly or by necessary implication. Section 297(2) of the 1961 Act did not clearly abolish that right, and section 75(2) did not indicate a contrary intention for registered firms. Applying section 6(c) of the General Clauses Act, the court held that the assessee could set off earlier speculation losses against speculation profits for assessment year 1962-63.

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Issues: Whether speculation losses incurred by a registered firm under the Indian Income-tax Act, 1922 could, after the coming into force of the Income-tax Act, 1961, be carried forward and set off against speculation profits for assessment year 1962-63.

Analysis: The right to carry forward and set off speculation losses had accrued under section 24(2) of the 1922 Act and had become a vested right. The repealing and saving provisions in section 297(2) of the 1961 Act did not expressly or by necessary implication extinguish that accrued right. Section 75(2) of the 1961 Act introduced a different scheme for registered firms, but it did not contain any clear indication that existing rights under the repealed Act were taken away. By virtue of section 6(c) of the General Clauses Act, 1897, accrued rights survive repeal unless the later statute clearly destroys them.

Conclusion: The assessee was entitled to carry forward and set off the speculation losses of the earlier years against the speculation profits of assessment year 1962-63.

Final Conclusion: The appeal failed because the repeal of the 1922 Act did not destroy the assessee's accrued right to set off carried-forward speculation losses, and the assessee's claim was upheld.

Ratio Decidendi: An accrued and vested right under a repealed taxing statute continues after repeal unless the later statute takes it away expressly or by necessary implication; a general repeal and saving provision does not by itself extinguish such a right.

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