9911796707
TMI Blog1968 (11) TMI 7X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... the business was thereafter continued as partnership business by members of the erstwhile family. An application for registration of the firm was filed along with the deed of partnership dated September 26, 1944. The application for registration in the year 1946-47 remained pending for several years. The application was ultimately dismissed on March 15, 1951. In the meanwhile, the firm filed two applications for renewal of registration for the assessment years 1947-48 and 1948-49. The two applications for renewal of registration were filed on December 9, 1947, and July 12, 1948, respectively. Both the applications for renewal of registration were dismissed by the Income-tax Officer on various grounds. The decision of the Income-tax Officer ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ctment for the time being in force relating to income-tax or super-tax. (2) The application shall be made by such person or persons, and at such times and shall contain such particulars and shall be in such form, and be verified in such manner, as may be prescribed; and it shall be dealt with by the Income-tax Officer in such manner, as may be prescribed." It has to be noted that section 26A refers to registration of firms. There is no separate mention of renewal of registration. Presumably, registration in the first instance and renewal of registration are both governed by section 26A. Rules framed under the Act were amended in 1952. We are concerned with the rules before the amendment of 1952. Rule 2 dealt with applications for regi ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... d. Mr. Shanti Bhushan, appearing for the department, points out that in the present case the applications by the assessee were not accompanied by the original instrument of partnership or certified copies of the instrument as required by the form given in rule 3. But we may point out that all, the time the original application for registration was pending before the Income-tax Officer; and the deed of partnership had been filed by the assessee with the application for registration. It is to be noted that the original application in the instant case remained undisposed of till the year 1951. When the firm applied for registration in the years 1947 and 1948, there was no order for registration in its favour. The question arises whether, u ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... s that an application on behalf of, and signed by, all the partners, containing all the particulars as set out in the Rules, has been made. Section 185 of the Income-tax Act, 1961, lays down the procedure for the disposal of an application for registration. Sub-section (2) of section 185 of the Income-tax Act, 1961, states: " The Income-tax Officer shall not reject an application, for registration merely on the ground that the application is not in order, but shall intimate the defect to the firm and give it an opportunity to rectify the defect in the application within a period of one month from the date of such intimation." It is true that section 185(2) of the Income-tax Act, 1961, does not, in terms, apply to cases governed by the ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ay well be excused if it applied for renewal of registration instead of registration as such. This defect in form should not have been treated by the Tribunal as fatal. The Income-tax Officer gave three different reasons for rejecting the assessee's applications for renewal of registration. Out of those three reasons, the Tribunal selected one reason only. The reason was that the application for renewal was irregular. Whether an irregularity is curable or not depends upon the nature of the irregularity. As explained above, the irregularity committed by the assessee in the instant case was one-of form, and not of substance. Under these circumstances, the Tribunal was not justified in dismissing the appeal merely because the assessee applied ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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