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TMI Blog1979 (12) TMI 56X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... income.--In computing the total income of a previous year of any person, any income falling within any of the following clauses shall not be included-- ......" (vii) the remuneration due to or received by him chargeable under the head ' Salaries ' for services rendered as a technician in the employment (commencing from a date before the 1st day of April, 1971) of the Government or of a local authority or of any corporation set up under any special law or in any business carried on in India, if he was not resident in any of the four financial years immediately preceding the financial year in which he arrived in India to the extent mentioned below-- (a) where his contract of service is approved by the Central Government before the commencement of his service or within one year of such commencement-- (i) in the case of at technician who has special knowledge and experience in industrial or business management techniques, such remuneration due to or received by him during the period of six months commencing from the date of his arrival in India ; (ii) in the case of any other technician, such remuneration due to or received by him during the thirty-six months commencing fro ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... for that year has been exempted. The assessee was, therefore, entitled to a further exemption for 307 days in all. This remuneration which the assessee received for 24 days in the assessment year 1963-64 was, therefore, held by the AAC to be exempted under s. 10(6)(vii)(b). For the assessment year 1964-65, the assessee was in India for 214 days. For the assessment year 1965-66, he was in India for 69 days. The AAC, on these facts, concluded that the assessee should have been exempted for the assessment years 1963-64 and 1964-65 completely and was liable to be taxed for the remuneration received from the 9th June onwards for the assessment year 1965-66. The AAC, therefore, allowed the assessee's appeals for the assessment years 1963-64 and 1964-65. For the assessment year 1965-66, the appeal was partly allowed. Before the Tribunal the department placed the details of the assessee's stay in India which were as follows: "15-5-57 to 30-05-57 15 days 22-8-61 to 18-10-61 57 days 8-3-63 to 7-08-63 153 days 20-5-63 to 10-10-63 31 days 11-3-64 to 7-06-64 89 days --------------------- 365 days. " (sic) ---------------------- The departmental representa ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... the rationale behind the grant of concession under section 10(6)(vii)(b) is not violated in any manner by putting the words " in all " in their proper perspective and as including the broken periods of stay. Much has been made by the departmental representative of the article " the " before the word " period In our opinion, " the " would still take in the aggregate of broken periods of stay as we have to harmoniously interpret the various words used in the section. It is not possible to ignore the words " in all " and go merely by the dictionary meaning of the word " the " even if we interpret the period to include the aggregate of broken periods. We, therefore, hold that the Appellate Assistant Commissioner interpreted the sub-section rightly." The Tribunal dismissed the departmental appeals for 1963-64, 1964-65 and 1965-66. The Tribunal's main order was passed for the assessment year 1963-64. For the other years, it followed its decision for the year 1963-64. In the instant case, both the parties treated the 22nd August, 1961, as the date of the first arrival of the assessee as a technician in India. The further proceedings took place on that basis. In effect the period of ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... on October 15, 1948, gave " to each co-director of mine of John Bedford Sons, Ltd ....... and also to each member of the staff of such company who shall have at my death had not less than five years' service with that company a sum representing three months' salary and emoluments at the rate payable to him or her at the date of my death and to each co-director and member of the staff of the same company who shall have had less than five years' service at my death a sum representing one month's salary and emoluments as aforesaid." Danckwerts J. had held that, " on the true construction of the will, the period of 5 years' service need not be a continuous period and service with the company for periods aggregating 5 years was sufficient qualification for the larger legacy, but, as the qualification required service for the relevant period and not only employment, a period of war service with His Majesty's Forces, during which period the company had resolved in certain circumstances to pay to employees serving with the forces half of their salaries, could not be taken into account." On the basis of these two judgments learned counsel for the department has submitted to us that ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... fect from the 1st April, 1955. The relevant portion of cl. (xiva) was as under: " (xiva) Any income chargeable under the head ' Salaries ' received by or due to any person, not being a citizen of India, during the financial year in which he arrived in India and the financial year next following is remuneration for services rendered by him as a technician in any business carried on in India in any case where such person was not resident therein in any of the four financial years immediately preceding the financial year in which he arrived in India: Provided that where during the financial year of arrival and the year next following such person has been in India for a period of, or for periods amounting in all to, three hundred and sixty-five days or more, only so much of the income aforesaid as is received by or due to him during the financial year in which he arrived in India shall not be included in his total income : Provided further that in the case of a person referred to in this clause, whose contract of service was approved by Government before the commencement of his service, this clause shall have effect as if for the words ' and the financial year next following ' ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... perience are actually utilised." We need not make any comment on clause (xiva) of, the Finance Act of 1955. Before it could be operative it was substituted by cl (xiva) of the Finance Act of 1956. The Explanation we have quoted above has also been included more or less in the same form in the 1961 Act as well. It should be appreciated that in s. 10(6)(vii) exemption is being given to income due to or received by an assessee which is chargeable under the head " Salaries ". Both in the previous Act of 1956 and in the Act of 1961, in the relevant provisions, the words " during " and " in all " have been used. The dictionary meaning of " during " is : " enduring, lasting, continuing, throughout the whole continuance of : in course of vide Shorter Oxford English Dictionary, Vol. I. 3rd Edn., page 574. The dictionary meaning of " in all " is all together ; also in whole vide Shorter Oxford English Dictionary, Vol. I, 3rd Edn., page 44. Wherever, therefore, the word " during " has been used a sense of continuity may have been conveyed. But continuity does not appear to be relevant in considering the expression " in all ". If the period in which service has been rendered is all to ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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