A point of law can arise out of an order of the Tribunal even if it has not been discussed in the order itself.

FALSHAW, J.

1. These are two petition by the Commissioner of Income-tax, Delhi, under Section 66(2) of the Income-tax Act asking this Court to require the Delhi Bench of the Income-tax Appellate Tribunal to state a case and refer certain questions to this court, the applications of the commissioner under Section 66(1) having been rejected by the Tribunal. Briefly the facts giving rise to the applications are that the respondent Bank, the Punjab National Bank Limited, had its head office at Lahore until towards the end of June, 1947, when the Bank shifted its head office to Delhi in view of the approaching partition of the Province of the Punjab. Prior to that the Bank had been for purposes of income-tax assessment within the sphere of the Income-tax Officer, E Ward, Lahore, who had dealt with the Banks assessments to income-tax for the years 1945-45 and 1945-46 on the March 28, 1945, and the August 19, 1946, respectively. The Bank had filed appeals against these orders both of which were decided by the appellate Assistant Commissioner by his orders dated October 25, 1946, and December 31, 1946, respectively. Although the Bank had partially succeeded in these appeals it was not satisfied, and it had filed appeals in both cases before the Allahabad Bench of the Income-tax Tribunal, which then had jurisdiction over the Punjab. These appeals were still pending on the August 15, 1947. It may be mentioned that before that date the Bank in addition to removing its head office from Lahore to Delhi had also requested the Income-tax authorities at Lahore to transfer to Delhi the records relating to its head office from Lahore to Delhi had also requested the Income-tax authorities at Lahore to transfer to Delhi the records relating to its income-tax affairs and this was done though it is not clear exactly when. It seems that these appeals, and probably others which had been filed relating to income-tax assessments at Lahore, were sent by the Allahabad Bench to the Presidents Bench at Bombay, which apparently was of the opinion that the appeals should be heard by the Pakistan Tribunal set up after the partition and a date for hearing in these appeals was actually fixed in March, 1948, when it seems the Pakistan Bench declined to hear and decide them on the ground that the records had been sent to India. Thereafter the appeals came up for hearing before the Delhi Bench of the Tribunal, which had apparently been constituted by that time, and they were heard and decided on the December 13, 1949. The appeal regarding the assessment year 1945-46 was accepted in toto and that relating to the assessment year 1944-45 was accepted in part. It seems that in these appeals when they were heard by the Delhi Tribunal notice was issued to the Income-tax Officer of the appropriate circle of Delhi and that he was represented in the appeals by counsel who opposed them and that no question at all was raised in the appeals either regarding whether the proper respondent had been impleaded and whether the Income-tax Officer, Companies Circle, Delhi, could properly be substituted as a respondent for the Income-tax Officer, E Ward, Lahore, or whether the Delhi Tribunal or indeed any branch of the Tribunal in India had jurisdiction to hear the appeals. After the decisionst, however, these points were raised in applications filed on behalf of the commissioner of Income-tax, Delhi, under Section 66(1) before the Delhi BEnch which was asked to make a statement of the case and refer the following two questions to the High Court :-

"(1) Whether the Income-tax Appellate Tribunal, Delhi Bench, had jurisdiction to hear the appeal arising out of the order of the Income-tax Officer, E Ward, Lahore;

(2) Whether the Tribunal was legally correct in showing the Income-tax Officer, in one case Private Salary Circle, Delhi, and in the other case Companies Circle, New Delhi, as respondents despite the fact that the assessment under appeal was made by the Income-tax Office