I.D. Oberoi 15,886 shares of Associated Hotels of India Ltd. 3,177 30 shares of Northern India Caterers Ltd. 10,500 Shri T.R. Oberoi 50 shares of Northern India Caterers Ltd. 17,500 6,823 shares of Associated Hotels of India Ltd. 1,365 Shri P.R.S. Oberoi 20 shares of Northern India Caterers Ltd 7,000 39,542 When the assessee went up in appeal, the Appellate Assistant Commissioner observed that the stand of the assessee that the dividend in respect of the shares held by his wife and two sons should number be included in his income had already been negatived by the Appellate Assistant Commissioner as per order dated Nov 16 521 Sup CI/73 1060 ember 24, 1959 for the assessment year 1952 53.
In second appeal before the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal, the assessee companytended that the Income Tax Investigation Commission had companysidered only the shares of the Associated Hotels of India, but the bulk of dividend included in the assessees income in the two assessment years in question was the dividend declared by Northern India Catereres Ltd. Contention was further advanced that assuming that the shares in question were acquired out of the assessees secreted profits in 1943, the wife and the two sons of the assessee companyld only be assessed in respect of the dividend income as they were the registered holders of those shares.
Appeals by special leave from the judgment and order dated November 25, 1969 of the Calcutta High Court in I. T. Refe rence No.
56,586 and Rs.
KHANNA, J. These two appeals by special leave are directed against the judgment of Calcutta High Court whereby it answered the following question referred to it under section 66 1 of the Indian Income Tax Act, 1922 in the negative in favour of the revenue Whether on the facts and in the circumstances of the case, the Tribunal was justified in excluding from the assessable income of the assessee for the assessment years 1953 54 and 1954 55 the sums of Rs.
All the money that was evaded is invested mainly in the shares of Associated Hotels of India Ltd. There has been great fall in the price of these shares.
Iswarani Debi, 6823 shares in the name of Sri T. R. Oberoi and 5,000 shares in the name of his daughter Sm.
56,586 and Rs.
16,62,21 1.
39,542 which were the amounts of dividend received by the assessees wife and two sons from shares acquired out of the profits of the assessee ?
D. Oberoi and the assessees two sons, namely, Mr. P.R.S. Oberoi and Mr. T.R. Oberoi do in fact belong to the assessee and are his own investments.
The matter relates to assessment years 1953 54 and 1954 55, the companyresponding previous years for which ended on March 31, 1953 and March 31, 1954 respectively.
The facts have also been admitted by the assessee before the department in the past years.
Sen, P. L. Juneja, S. P. Nayar and R. N. Sachthey, for the respondent.
For the assessment years 1953 54 and 1954 55, the appellant showed incomes of Rs.
According to the statement of wealth furnished the evaded income companyes to Rs.
In the order dated November 24, 1959 for the assessment year 1952 53, the Appellate Assistant Commissioner had referred to the following observations of the Income Tax Investigation Commission It was found that Sri M. S. Oberoi owned 78,650 ordinary shares in his own name, 15,885 shares in the name of his wife Sm.
a 50 Shares of Northern India Caters Ltd. 25,454 b 6, 823 shares of Associated Hotels 1 Ltd. 1,706 Mr. P.R.S. Oberoi son, of the assessee.
The appellant assessee is the Managing Director of Messrs Hotels 1938 Ltd. and other associated companypanies companytrolling a number of hotels in India.
The income from these shares is therefore to be rightly in cluded in the hands of the assessee and assessed accordingly.
39,452 in the assessment years 1953 54 and 1954 55 respectively.
87,570 as the gross dividend derived by him from the following shares held by him Associated Hotels of India Ltd. 109, 606 shares Northern India Caterers Ltd. 20 shares Oberoi Hotels 1 Ltd. 10 shares The Income Tax Officer found that besides the above mentioned shares, the appellants wife and two sons held shares of Associated Hotels of India Ltd. and Northern India Caterers Ltd. and included the gross dividend of those shares in the total income of the 1059 assessee.
CIVIL APPELLATE JURISDICTION Civil Appeals Nos.
It is seen from the past records that the following shares standing in the names of the assessee wife Sm.
D. Oberoi, wife of the assesseed.
In fixing up my liability and the payment thereof due account will have to be taken of the fall in prices of these shares and my capacity to pay.
Name of shareholder Gross dividend Rs.
66,694 and Rs.
On application filed by the Commissioner, the question reproduced above was thereafter referred to the High Court.
Rajarani Kapoor out of a total of 2000,000 ordinary shares issued and paid up as on 31 2 47.
In the order relating to assessment year 1953 54,the Income Tax Officer in this companytext observed as under Besides the income shown from the above men tioned shares of the above named companycerns, other income from dividends which are held by Benamidars of the assessee have also to be assessed in the hands of the assessee.
2492 and 2493 of 1969.
a 15,886 shares of Associated Hotels 1 Ltd. 3,971 b 30 shares of Northern India Caterers Ltd. 15,273 Mr. T.R. Oberoi, son of the assessee.
The Tribunal accordingly directed that the income assessed for the assessee should be reduced by the amounts of Rs.
The Appellate Assistant Commissioner accordingly repelled the companytention on behalf of the assessee that the amounts of Rs.
20 lakhs.
Reliance was also placed upon the following extract from a letter addressed by the assessee to the Commission In preparing the statement of wealth, I have taken into account all the assets of which I and other members of my family are possessed.
T. Desai, T. R. Bhasin, R. N. Banerjee and Lalit Bhasin, Ravinder Narain, J. B. Dadachanji and O. C. Mathur for the appellants.
149 of 1963.
These companytentions found favour with the Tribunal.
Northern India Caterers Ltd 20 shares .10,182 56,586 Similarly, for assessment year 1954 55 the Income Tax Officer included the following dividends in the total income of the assessee Name of the shareholders Net Dividend Smt.
