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TMI Blog1968 (8) TMI 7X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... tti, Kanpur. They were members of a joint Hindu family carrying on business until they became divided in the middle of assessment year 1953-54. Thereafter they were carrying on the business in partnership. For the year 1953-54, the firm submitted a return showing loss. But in the next succeeding year 1954-55 it disclosed a profit and submitted a return. All the four partners filed returns individually on September 27, 1954, and they were provisionally assessed on their returns on October 14, 1954. But the regular assessment was made for this year only on February 27, 1958. The firm continued to make profits in the subsequent years 1955-56, 1956-57, 1957-58 and 1958-59 and the partners filed returns for their income for each of these years and were regularly assessed for these years under section 23 some time after February 27, 1958. The assessment order for 1958-59 was in fact made on February 19, 1959. It is not disputed that none of the four partners sent any estimate of the tax payable on their income as required by section 18A of the Income-tax Act, 1922, or pay the tax in advance. Therefore, the Income-tax Officer, Kanpur, while assessing them under section 23 of the Act, held ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... e exceeded the maximum amount not chargeable to tax in his case by two thousand five hundred rupees. Such income-tax and super-tax shall be calculated at the rates in force for the financial year in which he is required to pay the tax, and shall bear to the total amount of income-tax and super-tax so calculated on the said total income the same proportion as the amount of such inclusions bears to his total income or, in cases where under the provisions of sub-section (1) of section 17 both income-tax and super-tax are chargeable with reference to the total world income, shall bear to the total amount of income-tax and super-tax which would have been payable on his total world income of the said previous year had it been his total income the same proportion as the amount of such inclusions bears to his total world income... (3) Any person who has not hitherto been assessed shall, before the 15th day of March in each financial year, if his total income of the period which would be the previous year for an assessment for the financial year next following is likely to exceed the maximum amount not chargeable to tax in his case by two thousand five hundred rupees, send to the Income-t ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... al income of the assessee, and shall determine the sum payable by him on the basis of such return. (2) If the Income-tax Officer is not satisfied without requiring the presence of he person who made the return or the production of evidence that a return made under section 22 is correct and complete, he shall serve on such person a notice requiring him, on a date to be therein specified, either to attend at the Income-tax Officer's office or to produce, or to cause to be there produced, any evidence on which such person may rely in support of the return. (3) On the day specified in the notice issued under sub-section (2), or as soon afterwards as may be, the Income-tax Officer, after hearing such evidence as such person may produce and such other evidence as the Income-tax Officer may require, on specified points, shall, by an order in writing, assess the total income of the assessee, and determine the sum payable by him on the basis of such assessment. (4) If any person fails to make the return required by any notice given under sub-section (2) of section 22 and has not made a return or a revised return under sub-section (3) of the same section or fails to comply with all the ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... payable under the regular assessment, the excess shall be refunded to the assessee. (8) Nothing done or suffered by reason or in consequence of any provisional assessment made under this section shall prejudice the determination on the merits of any issue which may arise in the course of the regular assessment under section 23." It was argued on behalf of the appellants that a mere provisional assessment under section 23B of the Act will not satisfy the requirements of section 18A(1) of the Act because the language of section 18A(1) shows that the provisions of that sub-section only apply when the amount of tax to be deposited in advance is determined on the basis of the assessee's total income of the previous year to which he has been assessed. It was contended that in the case of a provisional assessment under section 23B of the Act, there is no computation of the total income of the previous year and that under section 23B of the Act all that is done is to determine provisionally the income-tax payable on the basis of the return filed without properly going through the process of assessing the total taxable income. It is not possible to accept this argument because, even whe ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ing about such a decision but only accidentally omitted to do so. On the other hand, the language of section 18A(1) as it stands, can only lead to the interpretation that the provisions contained in it would become applicable whenever a person has been assessed whatever be the nature of the assessment---whether it be a regular assessment or a provisional assessment. It is important to notice that in section 18A(1) the expression " assessed " is used without any qualification or restriction as to whether the assessment should be a regular assessment or any other type of assessment under the Act. It is also manifest that in section 18A, sub-section (5), the two expressions " provisional assessment " and " regular assessment " are expressly mentioned. The expression " regular assessment " is also repeatedly used in section 18A, sub-sections (6), (7), (8) and (9). We see, therefore, no warrant for restricting the meaning of the word " assessed " in section 18A(1) so as to include only a " regular assessment " under section 23 of the Act. There is no reason why Parliament did not add the word " regularly " in the sub-section so as to qualify the word " assessed ". Since there is no su ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... undred rupees, send to the Income-tax Officer--- (i) an estimate of the total income exclusive of capital gains of the said previous year ; (ii) an estimate of the advance tax payable by him calculated in the manner laid down in section 209 ; and shall pay such amount as accords with his estimate, on such of the dates specified in section 211 as have not expired, by instalments which may be revised according to sub-section (2). " The argument was that these sections apply to a case of a regular assessment and the enactment of these sections should be treated as a Parliamentary exposition of section 18A(3) of the earlier Act as referring only to a case of regular assessment. We are unable to accept this argument as correct. There is nothing in the 1961 Act to suggest that Parliament intended to explain the meaning or clear up doubts about the meaning of the word "assessed " in section 18A(3) of the earlier Act. Generally speaking, a subsequent Act of Parliament affords no useful guide to the meaning of another Act which came into existence before the later one was ever framed. Under special circumstances, the law does, however, admit of a subsequent Act to be resorted to for ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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