9911796707
TMI Blog1985 (11) TMI 22X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... the Constitution of India, in the matter of reference application under section 27(1) of the Wealth-tax Act, 1957, regarding respondent No. 2 for the assessment years 1969-70 to 1977-78. The facts giving rise to this petition may be stated, in brief, thus: The Wealth-tax Officer, B-Ward, Circle-1, Indore, assessed the wealth of respondent No. 2 under section 16(3) of the Wealth-tax Act, 1957, by his separate assessment orders passed for different assessment years 1969-70 to 1977-78. The said Wealth-tax Officer has commonly observed in his assessment orders in all the assessment years as under : " The value of life interest and reversion to corpus in two trusts, namely, Lady Kanchan Bai Trust and Sir Hukumchand Trust, will be included her ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... llowing common question of law which arose out of the common order passed by respondent No. 1: "Whether, on the facts and in the circumstances of the case, the Income-tax Appellate Tribunal was correct in law in directing the exclusion of the value of life interest as reversioner from the assessment of this assessee in his individual capacity ?" However, respondent No. 1, by the impugned order dated July 20, 1983, rejected the said reference application on the -round that the Revenue should have filed separate reference applications for each of the wealth-tax appeals and not a consolidated application. Hence, this petition. The respondents have not filed any returns. After hearing learned counsel for the petitioner as also respondent No ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... nce application was competent. He also referred to a passage from Kanga & Palkhivala's Income Tax, vol. 1 (7th edn.), wherein at page 1149, it has been stated that "only one reference application need be made when the Tribunal passes a consolidated order disposing of the appeals of the assessee and the Department against the Appellate Assistant Commissioner's order for the same assessment year or a consolidated order disposing of a common point arising in different appeals. But separate reference applications should be made and separate statements of case should be prepared in respect of appeals decided under different tax statutes even if the question of law is similar." He, therefore, submitted that in the absence of any specific rules Ti ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ding to the effect that the proposed question of law did not arise at all. Even assuming for the sake of argument that one consolidated reference application was not maintainable in respect of these nine cases, it ought to have been treated as proper and valid in accordance with the prescribed form at least for one assessment year because there was no bar in treating the said reference application for a particular assessment year and deciding the same on merits, especially when a common question of law arose in all these cases between the same parties. Therefore, even on this ground, the impugned order cannot be sustained in law. In the result, these petitions succeed and are allowed. The impugned order dated July 20, 1983, passed by resp ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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