JUDGMENT

TULZAPURKAR, J.:— This appeal at the instance of Commissioner of Income-tax and by a certificate granted by the Calcutta High Court raises the question whether the respondent-assessee is entitled to relief under Sec. 25 (4) of the Indian Income-tax Act, 1922 for the assessment year 1959-60 which in turn depends upon the proper answer to the question whether on the facts and circumstances of the case and on a proper construction of the Deed dated 30th March, 1959 it is a case of mere reconstitution of the old firm or a new firm succeeding to the business of the old firm entitling the respondent-assessee to claim the relief!

2. The undisputed facts giving rise to the above question are these : M/s Pigot Champan & Co. is a firm of foreign exchange brokers which had been operating in Calcutta for a very long time. There is no dispute that the firm had been taxed on its business income under the Indian Income-tax Act, 1918 and that the other conditions laid down in Sec. 25 (4) of the 1922 Act for entitling an assessee to the relief under that provision are satisfied. The constitution of the firm had undergone several changes in the past; the firm was re-constituted for short per