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TMI Blog1969 (7) TMI 13X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... t Corporation, that is to say, the appellant before us, duly intimated the Income-tax Officer of the aforesaid change in the name of the company, the Income-tax Officer (respondent No. 3) made his assessment for the relevant period (1946-47) on the Meghlibundh Tea Company. Thereafter a certificate proceeding under the Public Demands Recovery Act was started on the allegation that a sum of Rs. 25,000 and odd was due on account of income-tax from the Meghlibundh Tea Company. At a later stage of the certificate proceedings, the Income-tax Officer requested the Certificate Officer that the name of the Economic Investment Corporation be substituted in place of the Meghlibundh Tea Company. Notice having been served under section 7 of the Public D ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... he hearing. (1) That the petitioner as a company could not be proceeded against as the successor of the Meghlibundh Tea Company without assessment proceedings having been taken against the petitioner-company and (2) that the demand under section 46(5A) could not be made from the petitioner-company in view of the bar under section 46(7) of the Act. Before us, on appeal, it is only the first ground which has been pressed by Dr. Pal, on behalf of the appellant. At the outset, it must be pointed out that by issuing a notice under section 46(5A), the Income-tax Officer is not seeking to proceed against the petitioner-company as a "successor" of the Meghlibundh Tea Company as has been assumed but is seeking to realise the income-tax demand from ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... : does the Allahabad Bank hold any money for or on account of the Meghlibundh Tea Company, who was the assessee for the demand in question? For an answer to that question, we must turn to the provision in section 11(5) under which the change in name stated at the outset took place. In the corresponding provisions of the Companies Act, 1956, it is provided in section 21, that a company may, by special resolution and with the approval of the Central Government, signified in writing, change its name. In section 23(1), it is stated that : "Where a company changes its name in pursuance of section 21 or 22, the Registrar shall enter the new name on the register in the place of the former name, and shall issue a fresh certificate of incorporation ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... company under the provisions of section 11(3) of the Companies Act. It was of course pointed out on behalf of the respondents that in the return of income submitted by the old company (vide page 64 of the paper book,) the name of the assessee was given as "Meghlibundh Tea Company Ltd. (now Economic Investment Corporation Ltd.)" and, therefore, the Economic Investment Corporation was already there in the records of the Income-tax Officer. To this, however, it has been contended on behalf of the appellant that the return was submitted not by the appellant but by the old company. Here again is another quibble, which has no substance in law, because the new company is nothing but the old company with a new label, as has already been stated ; ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... racted either. Upon this, however, Dr. Pal based his argument that there is no provision in law as to what would happen under the law of income-tax when there is a change of name of a company under the provisions of section 11(3) of the Companies Act, 1913. The answer to that is simple, namely, that no such question does arise in law just as it arises in the case of legal succession under sub-section (2) and in the case of a reconstitution of a partnership firm under sub-section (1) of section 26. In both these cases, there is a substitution or succession of one legal person by another legal person. To our mind, there has been no substitution or succession of one legal person by another legal person in the instant case. There has, to reiter ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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