Law:

Section:

JUDGMENT Narayana Pai, J.-The petitioner, who is a partner of a firm called "Unni & Co.", prays for the issue of an appropriate writ to quash the proceedings initiated by the second respondent, the Deputy Commissioner, Bangalore District, to recover from the petitioner income-tax due by the said firm on the strength of a certificate under section 46(2) of the Indian Income-tax Act issued by the first respondent, the Income-tax Officer, Special Survey Circle, Bangalore. For the assessment year 1953-54 the said firm was assessed as an unregistered firm under an order of assessment dated March 15, 1954, made by the first respondent officer. A sum of Rs. 70,206-10-0 was determined as the income-tax payable by the firm. A notice of demand under section 29 o-f the Act was also served on the firm. Deducting a small sum said to have been paid by one of the partners, a balance of Rs. 67,923-1-3 remained unpaid. The first respondent thereupon issued to the second respondent a certificate under section 46(2) of the Act specifying the amount of arrears due from the assessee firm. Sometime later it stated that the first respondent gave certain details as to the constitution of the firm to the second respondent. But no separate notice of demand was issued to the petitioner, nor was he named in the certificate as the assessee from whom arrears were due. The second respondent proceeded to attach and sell properties belonging to the petitioner and in the notice of auction it was mentioned that the petitioner was liable to pay 1/4 of Rs. 67,923-1-3. The petitioner contends that the assessee in the case was the unregistered firm of Unni & Co., which was assessed as a separate entity distinct from its partners, that, therefore, he, one of the partners, could not be said to be either an assessee or a person liable to, pay the tax assessed on the firm, and that even on the assumption that he could be said to be either an assessee or a person liable to pay the tax, no notice of demand under section 29 having been served upon him, proceedings for recovery of the tax could not have been validly initiated against him and further, that the collector acting under the certificate…

Deprecated: trim(): Passing null to parameter #1 ($string) of type string is deprecated in /home/digixyei/sldsystempk.com/view/master-layout/view_case.php on line 492