Satyanarayana Rao, J.-Under section 66(1) of the Income-tax Act read with section 21 of the Excess Profits Tax Act, at the instance of the Commissioner of Excess Profits Tax, the Income-tax Appellate Tribunal has referred to us the following question:

“Whether on the facts and in the circumstances of the case the Tribunal’s decision that the proceedings initiated under the Excess Profits Tax Act against the Hindu undivided family by issuing notice on 8th August, 1944, on a member of the disrupted family and assessing the family’s income to excess profits tax thereon-partition and disruption having been accepted by the department on 18th March, 1943-was valid in law?”

The assessee is a Hindu undivided family, viz., Messrs. Jivaraj Topun and Sons, Madras. The chargeable accounting periods with which we are concerned in this reference are (1) from 1st September, 1939 to nth November, 1939; (2) from 12th November, 1939 to 30th October, 1940; and (3) from 31st October, 1940 to 4th October, 1941. A notice under section 13 of the Excess Profits Tax Act was served on Tricumdas Jamnadas to file a return under the Act. In reply to that notice Jamnadas J. Topun submitted a nil return on 5th Oct

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