TMI Blog1969 (4) TMI 10X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... nal had decided the second appeal under section 33 of the Act, an application was made by the assessee for the submission of a statement of case and certain questions of law to this court under section 66(1) of the Act. The application was allowed in respect of some questions, but dismissed in respect of the rest. The Tribunal made a statement of the case and referred some questions of law to this court. That reference was numbered as I.T.R. No. 167 of 1955. While the reference was still pending, the assessee made applications requesting this court to require the Tribunal to state the case and refer the other questions in respect of which they had applied to the Tribunal and which the Tribunal had not referred. The assessee, however, filed ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ent to the opinion given by this court while answering I.T.R. No. 167 of 1955 on September 17, 1962. Section 66 of the Act, so far as relevant for our purposes, reads : "66. Statement of case by Appellate Tribunal to High Court.-(1) Within sixty days of the date upon which he is served with notice of an order under sub-section (4) of section 33, the assessee or the Commissioner may, by application ...... require the Appellate Tribunal to refer to the High Court any question of law arising out of such order, and the Appellate Tribunal shall within ninety days of the receipt of such application draw up a statement of the case and refer it to the High Court : ... (2) If on any application being made under sub-section (1) the Appellate Trib ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ry orders to dispose of the case conformably to the judgment of the High Court. The question requiring consideration is that once the Tribunal has already passed orders to dispose of the case in conformity with the judgment of this court dated September 17, 1962, will it still be possible to ask the Tribunal to submit a fresh statement of case and fresh questions of law for the court's opinion and thus require the Tribunal once again to pass orders in conformity with the judgment now to be given? The submission of the learned Advocate-General, who has appeared on behalf of the income-tax department, is that once a case has been disposed of by the Tribunal in accordance with the decision of this court, the judgment so amended by the Tribuna ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... word, "case", in the sense of the proceedings which open up before the Tribunal consequent to an order passed by the High Court deciding the questions of law referred to it. On the plain reading of section 66, we might have thought that the law contemplated only one reference and one answer and, therefore, one order under sub-section (5) of section 66 of the Act. This could be possible only if it were held that such questions as the Tribunal refused to submit to the High Court under section 66(1) of the Act could be called for under section 66(4) of the Act and that sub-section (2) of section 66 applied only to such cases were the application under section 66(1) has been completely refused and no question at all has been submitted for the ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... to move this court and to get a reference made to it if the High Court is satisfied that the decision of the Tribunal is not correct. In this view of the matter it is difficult to escape the conclusion that an application under section 66(2) of the Act can be made or disposed of or a statement of case called for even after a reference under section 66(1) of the Act has been disposed of, provided that the application under section 66(2) of the Act has been made in time as provided by the law. If such an application can be made and a reference called for then we have to read sub-section (5) of section 66 as to mean that the Tribunal will have to reopen the matter and pass a fresh order in conformity with the decision of this court on the ques ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
|