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Issues Involved:
1. Entitlement to set-off of the loss carried forward from the assessment year 1941-42 against the profit for the assessment year 1942-43. 2. Entitlement to set-off of the loss carried forward from the assessment year 1942-43 against the profit for the assessment year 1943-44. Issue-wise Detailed Analysis: 1. Entitlement to Set-off for the Year 1942-43: The primary issue was whether the assessee could set off the loss from the assessment year 1941-42 against the profit for the assessment year 1942-43. The assessee, a nine annas partner in a registered firm, had incurred a significant loss in 1941-42 due to speculation in various commodities. The Income-tax Officer initially disallowed this loss, but upon remand, it was determined that the transactions constituted a business. The loss was apportioned, and the assessee's share was Rs. 38,332. For 1942-43, the assessee's total income was Rs. 31,144, but the Income-tax Officer refused the set-off on the grounds that no part of the income was derived from speculation, as per Section 24(2) of the Indian Income-tax Act. This decision was upheld by the Appellate Assistant Commissioner and the Appellate Tribunal. The question for the court was whether Section 24(2) forbids the claim of set-off. Section 24(2) allows carrying forward and setting off losses against profits from the same business in subsequent years. The department argued that the speculation loss was from a different business, independent of the main business as merchants. However, the court noted that there was no clear finding that the speculation was a separate business. The Tribunal's order lacked a definitive finding of fact, and the business activities were interwoven, using the same capital and staff. The court concluded that the registered firm did not enter into a new business by engaging in speculation but continued its business as merchants. Therefore, the assessee was entitled to carry forward the loss from 1941-42 and set it off against the profits of 1942-43. 2. Entitlement to Set-off for the Year 1943-44: The facts for the year 1943-44 were similar to those of 1942-43. The assessee sought to set off the loss of Rs. 38,332 against the assessable income, which included profits from military contracts and other business activities like hardware and cement. There was no speculation profit in this year. Given the court's reasoning for the previous year, it was held that the assessee was also entitled to carry forward the loss from 1942-43 and set it off against the profits of 1943-44. The court emphasized that the business activities were not separate and the loss could be carried forward and set off against the subsequent year's profits. Conclusion: The court answered the reference in the affirmative, allowing the assessee to carry forward the losses from the years 1941-42 and 1942-43 and set them off against the profits for the years 1942-43 and 1943-44, respectively. The assessee was also awarded costs of Rs. 250 for the reference.
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