1979 (11) TMI 29

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....NI J.-By this reference under s. 256(1) of the I.T. Act, 1961, hereinafter called " the Act ", the Income-tax Appellate Tribunal, Indore Bench, Indore, has referred the following question of law to this court for its opinion : " (i) Whether, on the facts and in the circumstances of the case, the Appellate Tribunal was right in law in holding that only a single assessment could be made on the fi....

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....s follows The assessee is M/s. Dungarsidas Kaluram and the assessment year in question is 1971-72. The assessee filed two returns of income-the first up to 4th August, 1970, when one of the two partners of the firm, namely, Chhaganlal, died and the other from 5th August, 1970, onwards, when the surviving partner formed another partnership with Smt. Rukmanibai, widow of Chhaganlal, and one Sureshch....

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....f law to this court for its opinion. Now, in the case of a partnership consisting of only two partners, no partnership remains on the death of one of them. As held by the Supreme Court in CIT v. Seth Govindram Sugar Mills [1965] 57 ITR 510, in such case, the firm automatically comes to an end. Section 187 of the Act is attracted when at the time of making an assessment under s. 143 or s. 144 it....

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....that unless the context otherwise requires, " firm " has the same meaning as is assigned to it under the Indian Partnership Act, 1932. The provisions of s. 187(2) of the Act cannot be construed to mean that even though a partnership has come to an end on account of the death of one out of the two partners of the firm, nevertheless the firm would not be deemed to have ceased to exist. In our opinio....