Judgement

VENKATARAMA AYYAR J. : This is an appeal from the judgment of the High Court of Calcutta on a reference under Section 66(1) of the Income-tax Act. The appellant is a Company which came into existence in 1870 as an unregistered association and in 1906 it was registered under the provisions of the Indian Companics Act. Its business consists exclusively in granting terminable pensions or annuities dependent on human life in favour of the subscribers or their nominees. The dispute in this appeal relates to the assessment of the profits of the Company for income-tax for the periods, 1943-1944, 1944-1945, 1945-1946 and 1946-1947.

2. To follow the points in issue, it will be useful to refer to the statutory provisions bearing on the matter. Section 2(11) of the Insurance Act, 1938 defines "life insurance business" as meaning "the business of effecting contracts of insurance upon human life" and as including "the granting of annuities upon human life". The business of the appellant Company would therefore be life insurance business as defined in Section 2(11) of the Insurance Act. Under Section 10(7) of the Indian Income-tax Act, the profits and gains of any business of insurance a