JUDGMENT

1. The Income-tax Appellate Tribunal has referred to us two questions of law mentioned in the statement of the case drawn up by it on the 30th of April, 1951. The reference arises out of the appellate order of the Tribunal relating to the assessment for the charge year 1949-50. The assessee had appealed to the Appellate Assistant Commissioner of Income-tax, Lahore, against the assessment order of the Income-tax Officer, Companies Circle, Lahore, dated the 27th of October, 1949. The only item in controversy before the learned Appellate Assistant Commissioner was whether the assessee was liable to pay income-tax on the amount of Rs. 16,200 which represented the amount of interest on securities of the Central Government (of undivided India). This item had been included in the assessment by the Income-tax Officer not because it had been actually received by the assessee but because it had become due and was, therefore, according to the Income-tax Officer, "receivable" within the meaning of section 8 of the Income-tax Act.

2. Learned Appellate Assistant Commissioner allowed the appeal and stated the reasons for his decision thus :-

"As matters stand the interest it payable by Government on two specified dates but it is not receivable by the appellant unless and until he presents his interest coupons to the paying authority. Thus the mere fact that the dates in question have passed does not mean that the interest was receivable by the appellant on those dates unless the interest coupons were produced.

".... I accordingly hold that in the absence of the presentation of interest coupons to the paying authority, the interest due on the Government securities concerned was not receivable by the appellant on the dates prescribed for the payment of interest."

When the appeal by the Income-tax Department against this order was taken to the Income-tax Appellate Tribunal the assessee was allowed by the learned Tribunal to raise the further plea that the securities in question being those of the Government of India, as it was before the 15th of August, 1947, they did not fall within section 8 of the Income-tax Act, and, therefore, the interest thereon could not be assessed on the basis of "receivability" as alleged. The Tribunal rejected both the contentions of the assessee by their order dated the 23rd of December, 1950, and have now referred to this Court the following questions :-

"(1) Whether interest on securities of the Central Government of India, as it existed prior to partition, is taxable in Pakistan under section 8 of the Income-tax Act as adapted by the Pakistan (Adaptation of Existing Pakistan Laws) Order, 1947 ?

(2) Whether, in the circumstances of the case, the amount of Rs. 16,200 has been rightly assessed as interest on securities receivable by the assessee during the account year, within the meaning of section 8 of the Income-tax Act as adapted by the Pakistan (Adaptation of Existing Pakistan Laws) Order, 1947 ?"

Learned counsel appearing for the respondent, the Commissioner of Income-tax, Punjab and N. W. F. P., has raised a preliminary objection to this reference. He contended that the questions referred to us are purely academic in nature and would have no effect, one way or the other, on the final assessment because income-tax on the amount in question could be charged under the provisions of the Act other than those contained in section 8. In order to convince us of the validity of the second part of his contention he requested us to construe certain other sections of the Act-in other words he wanted us to formulate another question of law and to decide it. It is apparent from the facts stated by us, and contained in the statement of case submitted by the Tribunal, that the Income-tax Officer and the two appellate Courts decided the matter in issue merely on the basis of questions referred to this Court, and that they did not rest their decision upon any other ground. Under sub-section (1) of section 66 of the Income-ta