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TMI Blog1980 (1) TMI 74X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... visional attachment of the plots in question. The short facts leading to this litigation are as follows : Petitioners Nos. 1 to 3 are different partnership firms duly registered under the Partnership Act and petitioner No. 4 is a co-operative industrial society registered under the provisions of the Gujarat Co-operative Societies Act, 1961. The 3rd respondent is a private limited company and this company was the owner of plots Nos. 85/1, 85/5 and 85/6-7, in the town planning scheme No. 10 at Rakhial on the outskirts of Ahmedabad City. The 3rd respondent-company executed an agreement of sale dated January 18, 1975, in favour of the 1st petitioner-firm agreeing to sell these plots of land at prices varying from Rs. 65 to Rs. 81 per square yard. The total price agreed to be paid for the said plots of land was Rs. 5,61,750. The 1st petitioner-firm decided to keep final plot No. 85/1 for itself and to sell the other plots of land for which the agreement for sale was entered into with the 3rd respondent-company. The other plots of land, i.e., the plots other than final plot No. 8511, were agreed to be sold to the other three petitioners herein and sale deeds were executed in favour of ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... pplication for certificate has to be made by the person referred to in that sub-section and shall be in such form and shall contain such particulars as may be prescribed. Sub-section (3) of s. 230A is not material for the purpose of this judgment. It is clear that s. 230A occurs in the group of sections, from s. 220 to s. 232 (both inclusive) and this group of sections deals with the collection and recovery of taxes. And it is a part of the machinery for recovery of taxes under the various direct taxation statutes that s. 230A has been brought on the statute book. The certificate to be issued by the ITO is to the effect that such person has either paid the different direct taxes or made satisfactory provision for payment of all existing liabilities under those Acts, or the registration of the document will not prejudicially affect the recovery of any existing liability under any of those Acts. Even in the case of payment or making satisfactory provision, it is provided that payment should be of all the existing liabilities or the satisfactory provision for payment of all the existing liabilities should be made and then only the income-tax Officer concerned can issue the certificat ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... stated thus : " Under the Indian Income-tax Act liability to pay income-tax arises on the accrual of the income and not from the computation made by the taxing authorities in the course of assessment proceedings ; it arises at a point of time not later than the close of the year of account." and summarising the legal position, Subba Rao J. stated : " A liability to pay income-tax is a present liability though it becomes payable after it is quantified in accordance with ascertainable data. There is a perfected debt at any rate on the last day of the accounting year and not a contingent liability." Relying on these two passages from the decision in Kesoram Industries' case [1966] 59 ITR 767 (SC) Mr. Raval contended that the words existing " liability " occurring in s. 230A(1) must be interpreted to mean liability to pay income-tax as explained in Kesoram Industries' case without any reference to the order of assessment that may be passed subsequently in regular assessment proceedings. We are unable to accept this contention of Mr. Raval. It is wellsettled law that the words have to be interpreted in the perspective in which the Legislature has enacted the particular provision of ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ssment already passed under the relevant taxation statute. Under cl. (a) of sub-s. (1) of s. 230A similar words " existing liability " are used by the Legislature. It is a well-settled canon of construction that the same words occurring in different clauses of the same section must bear the same meaning and applying that well-known Canon of construction to the words " existing liability " occurring in cl. (a) of sub-s. (1) of s. 230A, it must be held that even under cl. (a) the words " existing liability " refer to the liability in respect of tax assessed under the respective taxation statutes. Unless and until there is a tax amount due and outstanding under an order of assessment already passed, there cannot be an " existing liability " under cl. (a) of sub-s. (1) of s. 230A also. This interpretation that we put on the words " existing liability " gets support from the fact that s. 230A is one of the sections in the group of sections dealing with the collection and recovery of income-tax and other taxes and further the form in which the application for certificate under s. 230A has to be made and the form in which the certificate has to be issued by the ITO support our conclusion ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ber 8, 1975, refusing to grant the certificate under s. 230A of the Act on two grounds, one of which was not germane to the section under which he was functioning and the second ground was based on a wrong interpretation of the provisions of sub-s. (1) of s. 230A. Under these circumstances it is obvious that the refusal of the ITO concerned was bad and illegal, and, therefore, the order dated October 8, 1975, must be quashed and set aside. We, therefore, allow this special civil application and quash and set aside the order dated October 8, 1975, passed by the first respondent herein. We also direct that a writ of mandamus be issued against the first respondent directing him to issue certificate within two weeks from today under s. 230A(1) of the Act in respect of the four transfer deeds in respect of which application under s. 230A was made to him. The certificate will have to be issued in the light of the facts and circumstances which prevailed at the time when the application for certificate was made on October 8, 1975. We must make it clear that nothing that we have stated in the course of this judgment will affect the course of the winding-up proceedings before the learned c ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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