TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
1977 (1) TMI 21
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....t, for the assessment year 1970-71, after giving an opportunity to file the declaration in Form No. 12 as required under section 184(7) of the Income-tax Act, 1961, within one month from the date of the receipt of the order ? " The Income-tax Officer while assessing the assessee for the assessment year 1970-71 found that the assessee had not filed a declaration under section 184(7) of the Act in Form No. 12 and so for that assessment year the Income-tax Officer took the status of the assessee as unregistered firm. The assessee preferred an appeal against the order under section 246(c) of the Act to the Appellate Assistant Commissioner. Before the Appellate Assistant Commissioner the assessee contended, inter alia, that it was a partnersh....
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.... opportunity to file the declaration as prescribed under the said Act within one month from the date of receipt of the order. The question that arises for consideration is whether the Tribunal could in law allow time beyond the prescribed period to the assessee to file the declaration for contitution of the registration. The relevant provisions of law may, therefore, be noticed. Section 184 of the Act, which deals with application for registration, reads as follows : " 184. (1) An application for registration of a firm for the purposes of this Act may be made to the Income-Tax Officer on behalf of any firm if-- (i) the partnership is evidenced by an instrument ; and (ii) the individual shares of the partner, are specified in ....
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....ng by all the partners (not being minors), or, where the application is made after the dissolution of the firm, by all the persons referred to in clause (b) of sub-section (3), to be a correct copy or a certified copy of the instrument ; and in such cases the application shall be accompanied by a duplicate copy of the original instrument. (6) The application shall be made in the prescribed form and shall contain the prescribed particulars. (7) Where registration is granted to any firm for any assessment year, it shall have effect for every subsequent assessment year : Provided that-- (i) there is no change in the constitution of the firm or the shares of the partners as evidenced by the instrument of partnership on the basis of ....
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....e assessment year concerned a declaration to that effect in the prescribed form and verified in the prescribed manner. Sub-section (7) of section 184 of the Act has been amended by the Taxation Laws (Amendment) Act, 1970, with effect from April 1, 1971. So the amendment does not reach the present assessment year, which is 1970-71. In the instant case, clause (ii) of the proviso to sub-section (7) of section 184 has not been complied with. The firm along with its return for the assessment year 1970-71 did not furnish the declaration as required under clause (ii) of the proviso to sub-section (7) of section 184, which before the amendment was as follows : " (ii) the firm furnishes, along with its return of income for the assessment y....
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....Act and rule 24 of the Income-tax Rules, we find that the Income-tax Officer had no jurisdiction to extend the time for filing the declaration if the declaration was not filed within the prescribed time as required under section 184 of the Act. That being so, the appellate authority, that is, the Tribunal, cannot assume more powers than the Income-tax Officer and give time beyond the prescribed period to file the declaration or direct the Income-tax Officer to give time to the assessee to file the declaration, as has been done by the Tribunal, and to treat the assessee as a registered firm. This interpretation of sub-section (7) of section 184 of the Act is strengthened by the subsequent amendment of subsection (7) by the Taxation Laws (....