Authorised representative qualification requires degree from a university incorporated by law, not a company-incorporated institution.

A degree from Commercial University, Delhi did not satisfy the qualification for an authorised representative under rule 51 of the Income-tax Rules, 1962, because the rule required a degree in commerce or law from an Indian university incorporated by law. The broader definition of "university" in section 2(f) of the UGC Act, 1956 was held not to control rule 51, which used narrower language. As the institution was incorporated as a company under the Indian Companies Act, 1913 and not by an enactment incorporating a university, the petitioner was not qualified to represent an assessee before income-tax authorities.

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Issues: Whether a degree in commerce from the Commercial University, Delhi, qualified the petitioner to act as an authorised representative of an assessee under section 288 of the Income-tax Act, 1961 read with rule 51 of the Income-tax Rules, 1962.

Analysis: Rule 51 prescribed educational qualifications for an authorised representative and required, in the relevant category, a degree in commerce or law conferred by an Indian university incorporated by law for the time being in force. The Commercial University, Delhi, was incorporated as a company under the Indian Companies Act, 1913 and not by an enactment incorporating a university. The meaning of "university" in section 2(f) of the University Grants Commission Act, 1956 was held to be broader, but that definition did not govern rule 51 of the Income-tax Rules, 1962, which used narrower language. The petitioner's degree from that institution therefore did not satisfy the prescribed qualification.

Conclusion: The petitioner was not qualified under rule 51 to represent an assessee as an authorised representative, and the departmental refusal to permit him to appear was upheld.

Final Conclusion: The writ petition failed because the petitioner's qualification did not meet the statutory requirement for representation before the income-tax authorities.

Ratio Decidendi: Where a rule prescribes qualification through a degree from a university incorporated by law, a certificate from an institution incorporated only as a company does not satisfy the statutory condition.

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