Statutory relief cannot be denied for omission in the return where entitlement is otherwise clear on record.

A lawful deduction under the Wealth-tax Act cannot be withdrawn merely because the assessee did not expressly claim it in the return, where the allowance is otherwise permissible in law and the relevant material is already on record. The assessing authority must apply the statute correctly and grant available relief on the basis of the record, and a valid relief does not become inadmissible because it was omitted from the computation. On that basis, the deduction under section 5(1)(xxxii) was held to have been wrongly withdrawn and the relief earlier allowed was sustained in favour of the assessee.

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Issues: Whether the Wealth-tax Officer was justified in withdrawing the deduction under section 5(1)(xxxii) of the Wealth-tax Act, 1957 on the ground that the assessee had not claimed it in the return.

Analysis: The Tribunal held that where the allowance is permissible in law and the relevant material is already available on record, the assessing authority is bound to administer the statute correctly and grant the relief even if it was not expressly claimed by the assessee. The Tribunal relied on the view that a lawful relief does not cease to be admissible merely because it was omitted from the computation.

Conclusion: The withdrawal of the deduction was erroneous and the relief allowed by the predecessor Wealth-tax Officer was within the provisions of law; the issue is decided in favour of the assessee.

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