TMI Blog1978 (4) TMI 68X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... and in the circumstances of the case, the Tribunal was correct in holding that the assessee was not entitled to the relief under s. 25(3) and/or s. 25(4) of the Indian Income-tax Act, 1922, for the assessment year 1958-59 ? " The facts found and/or admitted are shortly as follows : C. C. Basu, a well-known solicitor of this court, died on the 9th December, 1967. He was a partner in the firm of Messrs. C. C. Basu Co., Solicitors, having four annas share therein. The deceased had income from his share in the said firm which was assessed as his professional income. The deceased also had other income from property. In the assessment proceedings the heirs and legal representatives of the deceased claimed relief under s.25(3) and/or s. 2 ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... al found that all the heirs and legal representatives of the deceased were not qualified solicitors and as such they were not entitled to be partners of the firm in place of the deceased. On the death of the deceased there was only a reconstitution of the firm and there was no succession. The Tribunal held that the claim of the heirs and legal representatives for relief under s. 25 of the Act has been rightly rejected by the authorities below. During the pendency of this reference, S. M. Basu, one of the heirs and legal representatives of the deceased, died and Sm. Anima Basu was brought on record in his place as his sole executrix. Mr. Biswarup Gupta, learned counsel for the applicants, based his arguments solely on s. 25(3) of the Act ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... Mr. N. C. Mandal had been carrying on business or profession as an attorney of this court. In 1924, he entered into a partnership with another solicitor and thereafter the two partners carried on business as attorneys of this court under the name and style of N. C. Mandal Co. On the 1st March, 1944, two new partners were taken in and, the shares were redistributed. On the 16th March, 1944, Mr. N.C. Mandal retired from his profession. Relief was claimed by Mr. N. C. Mandal under s. 25(3) of the Act before the ITO on the ground that the business or profession carried on by him was discontinued by him. This court held that Mr. N. C. Mandal was entitled to relief under s. 25(3) in respect of his share of income in the firm of N.C. Mandal C ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... carry on his profession. The question arose whether the assessee had discontinued his profession and, therefore, entitled to relief under s. 25(3). The income-tax authorities contended that the assessee had not discontinued but had only suspended his profession during the period of his detention. Before the Appellate Tribunal, the revenue contended that the practice which the assessee carried on in 1941, was not a practice which had been charged to income-tax under the Indian Income-tax Act of 1918, as the earlier practice had been discontinued in 1932, and relief had been given in respect of such discontinuance. The Tribunal, however, did not allow this point based on new facts to be urged by the revenue. There was a reference to this cou ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... retirement from profession or business or some other voluntary act on the part of the partner and not discontinuance on account of death. The relief under s. 25(3) of the Act could be claimed only by the assessee himself and not by his heirs or legal representatives. We are unable to accept the contentions of Mr. Pal. s. 25(3) speaks of discontinuance of business, profession or vocation but does not enumerate the grounds of discontinuance. Nor does the section say that the person who would discontinue the business and the person who claims relief under the section must be one and the same. In income-tax law the heirs and legal representatives of a deceased assessee are liable to pay tax on income of the deceased-assessee prior to his dea ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... aid in Hunter (Inspector of Taxes) v. Dewhurst [1932] 16 TC 605 (HL) that ' you cannot vacate an office better than by dying in it '. It appears to their Lordships that on death a person does vacate his office, and, equally, that on death a person ceases to carry on a business which he had been carrying on previous to death. " The above observations of the Privy Council demolish to a great extent the argument of Mr. Pal that death cannot be construed as discontinuance of business, profession or vocation under s. 25(3) of the Act. For the above reasons, we are of the opinion that the applicants are entitled to relief under s. 25(3) of the Indian Income-tax Act, 1922, as claimed. We, therefore, answer the question in the negative and in f ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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