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TMI Blog1978 (7) TMI 42X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... he prescribed date all rights, powers, claims, demands, interests, authorities, privileges, benefits, assets and properties of the Southern Bank Ltd., movable and immovable, including property, rights and assets of every description including all rights of action would stand transferred to and become the properties and assets of the United Industrial Bank Ltd. (b) From such prescribed date all liabilities, duties and obligations of the Southern Bank Ltd. would be and become the liabilities, duties and obligations of the United Industrial Bank Ltd. (c) All contracts, bonds, agreements, powers of attorney, grants of legal representation and other instruments of whatever nature subsisting or having effect immediately before the prescribed date would be effective to the extent as if instead of the Southern Bank Ltd. the United Industrial Bank Ltd. had been a party thereto or as if they had been issued in favour of the United Industrial Bank Ltd. (d) If on the prescribed date any suit, appeal or other legal proceedings of whatever nature by or against the Southern Bank Ltd. would be pending the same would not abate, or be discontinued or be in any way prejudicially affected but ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... lf of the assessee before the Tribunal that the order of the AAC was erroneous inasmuch as the United Industrial Bank Ltd. having become responsible for all the liabilities including the tax liabilities of the Southern Bank Ltd. came within the ambit of the expression " assessee " and that the said United Industrial Bank Ltd. was competent to prosecute the appeals. The Tribunal, inter alia, found as follows : (a) The Southern Bank Ltd. was the assessee. (b) It had become eligible for some refunds. (c) The order passed by the ITO on the 30th January, 1965, was an assessment order. (d) As a result of the merger, the Southern Bank Ltd. did not lose its existence, though it was denuded of all its assets and liabilities. It continued to be an assessee within the meaning of the expression in the I.T. Acts of 1922 and 1961. (e) The Southern Bank Ltd. had preferred the appeals to the AAC. (f) The transfer of the liabilities of the Southern Bank Ltd. to the United Industrial Bank Ltd. and the vesting of the assets of the Southern Bank Ltd. in favour of the United Industrial Bank Ltd. had the effect of enabling the latter to continue the proceedings in appeal by reason o ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... e made on the person succeeding him in like manner and to the same amount as it would have been made on the person succeeded or when the tax in respect of the assessment made for either of such years assessed on the person succeeded cannot be recovered from him, it shall be payable by and recoverable from the person succeeding, and such person shall be entitled to recover from the person succeeded the amount of any tax so paid." Section 30(1) " Any assessee ... objecting to a refusal of an Income-tax Officer to allow a claim to a refund under section 48, 49 or 49F, or to the amount of the refund allowed by the Income-tax Officer under any of those sections... may appeal to the Appellate Assistant Commissioner against ... such refusal or order : ......... " Section 33(1) " Any assessee objecting to an order passed by an Appellate Assistant Commissioner under section 28 or section 31 may appeal to the Appellate Tribunal within sixty days of the date on which such order is communicated to him. " The corresponding sections in the I.T. Act, 1961, are as follows : Section 2(7) " 'assessee' means a person by whom any tax or any other sum of money is payable under this Ac ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... itled to a refund of the excess. " Section 246 : " Any assessee aggrieved by any of the following orders of an Income-tax Officer may appeal to the Appellate Assistant Commissioner against such order--... (h) an order under sub-section (2) or sub-section (3) of section 170;... (n) an order under section 237;... " Section 253: " Appeals to the Appellate Tribunal.--(1) Any assessee aggrieved by any of the following orders may appeal to the Appellate Tribunal against such order-... " Mr. B. L. Pal, learned counsel for the revenue, contended at the hearing that the AAC has found that it is the United Industrial Bank Ltd. who had preferred the appeals from the order of assessment. The assessments having been made on the Southern Bank Ltd., the United Industrial Bank Ltd. was not competent to prefer the appeal as the assessee and, therefore, the appeal to the AAC was incompetent. Mr. Pal further contended that the United Industrial Bank Ltd. did not come within the definition of " assessee " within the meaning of the said expression under the I.T. Acts inasmuch as, (a) nothing was payable by the United Industrial Bank Ltd. in respect of assessments on the Southern ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ment of this amount. Mr. Pranab Pal, learned counsel for the assessee, has contended on the other hand, that the United Industrial Bank Ltd. was an assessee under the provisions of the I.T. Acts. Under the scheme, the United Industrial Bank Ltd. stood substituted in the place and stead of Southern Bank Ltd. in respect of all rights and liabilities of the Southern Bank Ltd., including all pending proceedings, which must be held to include proceedings under the I.T. Act. Sub-section (14) of s. 45 of the Banking Companies Act provided as follows : (14) The provisions of this section and of any scheme made under it shall have effect notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained in any other provisions of this Act or in any other law or any agreement, award or other instrument for the time being in force. " Mr. Pranab Pal submitted further that under the scheme it was only the United Industrial Bank Ltd. which could claim refund, and, accordingly, the United Industrial Bank Ltd. came within the meaning " assessee " as given in s. 2(2) of the Indian I.T. Act, 1922, or s. 2(7) of the I.T. Act, 1961. He also submitted that under s. 26(2) of the earlier Act, corresponding to s. 1 ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... t have been signed by the general manager of the United Industrial Bank Ltd. but under the I.T. Rules, 1962, the form of appeal can be signed under sub-r. (2)(f) of r. 45 by any person competent to act on behalf of the assessee. In our opinion, the United Industrial Bank Ltd. in law became competent to act on behalf of the Southern Bank Ltd. after the amalgamation. Therefore, the memoranda of appeals were properly signed by the United Industrial Bank Ltd. The findings of the Tribunal that it was the Southern Bank Ltd. who had filed the appeals and that it was the United Industrial Bank Ltd. which continued to proceed with the appeals have not been challenged by the revenue. We also note that the assessment proceedings of Southern Bank Ltd. were pending till the 30th January, 1965, when they were disposed of by the ITO. On that date under the scheme it was the United Industrial Bank Ltd. which could continue the proceedings and necessarily had the right to file appeals therefrom. We are not at all impressed by the hyper-technical objections as have been pressed by the revenue in this case. We also note that the question which has been drawn up by the Tribunal and referred does n ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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