The main legal point established in the judgment is that the time taken for obtaining certified copies of orders can be excluded in computing the time for filing appeals under the Income-tax Act.

1. This reference, under the Income-tax Act, arises out of two assessments made on Malayalam Plantations Limited, Quilon, for the Malabar years 1122 and 1124 under the Travancore Income-tax Act. Against those assessments the assessee, the Malayalam Plantations Limited, preferred two appeals to the Appellate Assistant Commissioner of Income-tax, Trivandrum, Income-tax Appeal No. 443 of 1124 against the assessment for 1122 and Income-tax Appeal No. 975 of 1124 against the assessment for 1124. Both these appeals were disposed of by the Appellate Assistant Commissioner on 30-8-1952. Against the orders passed by him on that date the assessee preferred two appeals to the Income-tax Appellate Tribunal, Madras Bench-B I.T. Appeals 5007 and 5008 of 1952-53. These appeals were filed on 21-11-1952. The Appellate Tribunal, dismissed both of them on the ground that they were time-barred, that is, that they were filed after sixty days from the date of the communication of the Appellate Assistant Commissioner's order to the assessee. The position which the assessee took up before the Appellate Tribunal was that the appeals were not time barred. But by way of abundant caution the assessee had also filed two petitions for condoning the delay if the Tribunal was of the opinion that there was delay in filing the appeals. These applications for condoning the delay were also dismissed by the Appellate Tribunal. Then the assessee applied for a reference to this court. The Appellate Tribunal granted the application and has referred to this Court the following question, namely,

"Whether the appeals for assessment years 1122 and 1124 M. E. have been filed before the Appellate Tribunal in time having due regard to S.45 and 115 of the Travancore Income-tax Act and the rules framed by the Appellate Tribunal in this regard?"

2. S.45 of the Travancore Income-tax Act corresponds to S.33(1) of the Indian Income- tax Act, and provides:

"Any assessee objecting to an order passed by an Appellate Assistant Commissioner under S.41 or S.44 may appeal to the Appellate Tribunal within sixty days of the date on which such order is communicated to him."

S. 115 of the Travancore Income-tax Act corresponds to S.67A of the Indian Income-tax Act, and provides that S.12 of the Travancore Limitation Act shall apply in computing the period of limitation prescribed for an appeal under that Act; and S.12 of the Travancore Limitation Act provides:

"12. (1) In computing the period of limitation prescribed for any suit, appeal or application, the day from which such period is to be reckoned shall be excluded.

(2) In computing the period of limitation prescribed for an appeal, an application for leave to appeal as a pauper and an application for a review of judgment, the day on which the judgment complained of was pronounced, and the time requisite for obtaining a copy of the decree, sentence or order appealed from or sought to be reviewed, shall be excluded.

(3) Where a decree is appealed from or sought to be reviewed, the time requisite for obtaining a copy of the judgment on which it is founded shall also be excluded

(4) In computing the period of limitation prescribed for an application to set aside an award, the time requisite for obtaining a copy of the award shall be excluded.

(5) In computing the period of limitation prescribed for an appeal, the time during which an application for review of judgment presented before the expiration of the time allowed for appeal was pending, shall also be excluded. The day on which the application for review was presented and the day on which it was disposed of shall be taken as part of such time."

The Appellate Assistant Commissioner's order dated 30-8-1952 disposing of the appeals Nos. 443 and 975 of 1124 were communicated to the assessee on 8-9-1952. The assessee then applied for certified copies of the orders on 24-9-1952, and the assessee received the certified copies in pursuance of those applications on 23-10-1952. The intimatio