Judgement

VENKATARAMA AYYAR J. - The appellant is a firm which was constituted under a deed of partnership dated 10-2-1941, and consists of two partners, Subba Rao and Hariprasada Rao. On 21-3-1942 it was registered under S. 26-A, Indian Income-tax Act, 11 of 1922, hereinafter referred to as the Act, for the assessment year 1942. Sometime thereafter, one of the partners, Subba Rao, is stated to have left on a long pilgrimage, and the affairs of the partnership were then managed by Hariprasada Rao as his agent under a general power-of-attorney dated 1-7-1940.

Hariprasada Rao then applied under Rr. 2 and 6 of the rules framed under S. 59 of the Act, for renewal of the registration certificate for the year 1942-43, and the application was signed by him for himself and again as the attorney of Subba Rao. Those Rules provide that an application for registration of a firm under S. 26-A and for renewal of registration certificate "shall be signed personally by all the partners". The Income-tax Officer rejected the application for renewal on the ground that it was not personally signed by one of the partners, Subba Rao, and that the signature of Hariprasada Rao as his agent was not valid.

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