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TMI Blog1923 (3) TMI 4X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... I agree that there is no inherent right of appeal and that unless such right is conferred by the Letters Patent or by Statute there can be none. I have no doubt that our decision is a "judgment" and also that it is 'final'. The power of determining Income Tax question is conferred by the Income Tax Act VII of 1918. By Section 57 the Chief Revenue Authority may, and in certain circumstances on the application of the assessee himself must, draw up a statement of the case and refer it with his own opinion to the High Court and the High Court has to decide the question raised arid deliver judgment, and that judgment is to be acted upon. Apart from this provision, the High Court by reason of Section 106 of the Government of India Act has no power to deal with revenue matters. The section confers this jurisdiction on the Court and, in my view, these Income Tax cases are referred to the Court as a "Court" and it must follow that the ordinary rights of appeal from that Court are available. This principle is clearly enunciated in National Telephone Co. v. Postmaster-General (1913) A.C. 546 : 82 L.J.K.B. 1197 : 109 L.T. 562 : 57 S.J. 661 : 29 T.L.R. 637. The Gove ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... he may be required to refer the matter for the determination of the Court, the Court for this purpose being a principal Civil Court of original jurisdiction. By Section 54 an appeal is given from what is termed an award of that Court to the High Court. Two Judges of the Chief Court of Burma sat to hear the reference and it was held by the Privy Council that no appeal lay from their decision applying the principle stated by Bramwell, L.J., in Sandback Charity Trustees v. North Stafford shire Railway Company (1878) 3 Q.B.D. 1 : 47 L.J.Q.B. 10 : 37 L.T. 391 : 26 W.R. 229. An appeal does not exist in the nature of things. A right to appeal from any decision of a tribunal must be given by express enactment. So far as the actual decision is concerned, I think that the fact that the two Judges sat as arbitrators, and not as a Court in the ordinary sense is established by the words of the Act itself, which call their decision an award and not a judgment. It was, however, suggested that these Judges were sitting not only on the reference to them by the Collector but also as an appellate, tribunal under Section 54. It is difficult to understand how this could be so, because it seems impossib ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... f this application costs in the cause. Murray Coutts-Tratter, J. 4. This was a case referred to the High Court by the Chief Revenue Authority under the powers conferred upon it to that end, by Section 51(1)(9) of the Income Tax Act, VII of 1918. The Revenue Authority being dissatisfied with the determination of the High Court is desirous of obtaining leave to appeal to the Privy Council. 5. With the merits of the question we are not concerned. The only point we have to determine is that raised by way of preliminary objection by the assessee, viz., that we have no power to grant leave to appeal, in any event. There can be no question as to the fulfilment of the conditions requisite for an appeal being allowed, for though the value is only ₹ 6,000, the legal importance of questions raised by the reference is obviously great. But Mr. Grant has argued that the provisions of the Code of Civil Procedure do not apply, that there is a special machinery provided by the Income Tax Act beyond which you must not look and that unless there is an express provision in the Act for an appeal to the Privy Council, there is no jurisdiction in this Court to grant leave. The chief authority wh ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... 9;s argument is as follows: By Section 106 of the Government of India Act, the ordinary Courts of this country are debarred from inquiring into matters concerning the revenue. The Income Tax Act of 1918 gives power to the Board of Revenue and in a sense creates a right in the assessee to refer a formal special case for the opinion of the High Court. His contention is, that the Act of 1918 is exhaustive as to this subject, and that when the High Court has given its opinion, the matter is ended, as the Statute makes no provision for a further appeal to the Privy Council. If the matter were res integra, the inclination of my mind would be in accordance with this argument, but I think, I am precluded by authorities of great weight from acceding to it. The principle that I conceive to be established by those authorities is this, that where yon find the jurisdiction of a Court extended by a Statute to matters which would not ordinarily come within its purview, that extension of jurisdiction makes the new matters subject to all the machinery provided by law, for the regulating of its ordinary jurisdiction as a Court of Record--the machinery in this instance being the Civil Procedure Code. ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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