Appeal No 13 of 1952
Appeal from the Judgment and Order dated 18th January 1950 of the High Court of Judicature at Madras Satyanarayana Rao and Viswanaths Sastri JJ in Case Referred No 28 of 1947
O T G Nambiar section N Mukherjee with him for the appellant
M C Setalvad Attorney General of India and CK Daphtary Solicitor General for India G N Joshi and P A Mehta with them for the respondent
December 22
The Judgment of the Court was delivered by BOSE J
The following question was referred to the High Court of Madras by the Income tax Appellate Tribunal under section 66 1 of the Indian Income tax Act 1922 Whether on the facts and in the circumstances of the case when an assessment has been made under section 23 1 of the Indian Income tax Act determining the assessee company s income as nil  and when proceedings under section 34 were subsequently started to assess the income which the 450 Income tax Officer believed to have escaped assessment the assessee company is entitled to claim that the loss of profits and gains including depreciation allowance sustained by it in the previous year should be determined in the course of such proceedings
 We are concerned in this case with the assessment year 1941 42
The assessee is the Anglo French Textile Company a company which is incorporated in the United Kingdom
It owns spinning and weaving mills at Pondicherry in French India and manufactures yarn and cloth there
The raw materials necessary for the manufacture or at any rate much of it such as cotton used to be purchased in what was then the British India through its agents Best  Company Ltd of Madras
The bulk of its manufactured goods was  also sold in British India the rest being sold elsewhere
But in the year material to this case it did no business in British India and accordingly it submitted no return to the Income tax authorities
On 26th April 1941 the Income tax Officer issued a notice to the assessee and called for a return
The assessee replied on 9th June 1941 that it had at all times material to the assessment year no business in British India  and consequently no profits arose or accrued or were received in British India and therefore the assessee was not liable to comply with the provisions of the Indian
Income tax Act
 The assessee added
In the Circumstances the company is not liable to make a return but with a view to preserve the right of the company to appeal against any order that may be passed by you if necessary we submit herewith without prejudice a nil return receipt of which kindly acknowledge
 Appended to the letter was a piece of paper which has been called a  nil return
It is the usual printed form in which returns are normally made but the only entryin the whole form is the word  nil The following declaration was also added 451 I further declare that the company was not resident in British India during the previous year etc  On 25th March 1942 the Income tax Officer made the following order which he called an Assessment Order The company made a nil return of income obviously for the reason that it is not carrying on any business in British India 
I accept the return of income filed by the company and declare it is not liable to tax for the year 1941 42
 A year later namely on 9th March 1943 the Income tax Officer sent the assessee a notice under section 34 1 b in the following terms Whereas in consequence of the definite information which has come into my possession I have discovered that your income assessable to income tax for the year ending 31st March 1942 has a escaped assessment
I therefore propose to assess the said income that has a escaped assessment
I hereby require you to deliver to me not later than  a return in the attached form of your total income and total world income assessable for the said year  In reply to this the assessee again submitted the same CC nil  return and filed a statement showing a loss of Rs 392357 on its total world income
This was on 31st May 1944
The Income tax Officer passed orders on this on 2nd June 1944
He stated that the assessee was a non resident company and that during the year no sales were effected in British India and concluded as follows As the net result for the world business is only a loss there can be no question of profits attributable 452 co operations in British India under section 42 1 and 42 3 in respect of cotton purchases
The nil  return filed is therefore accepted Hence there is no assessment for 1941 42
As this is a non resident company the loss need not be carried forward under section 24 2 as that section in terms does not apply to non residents
 The last portion of the order is the one which occasions the assessee B grievance
It claims that the Income tax Officer having accepted its statement of loss was bound to record it and carry it forward
Appeals followed to the Appellate Assistant Commissioner of Income tax and the Income tax Appellate Tribunal and ultimately there was a reference to the High Court
The assessee has failed throughoutand now appeals here
The assessee s contention is based on the following provision of section 34
The first sub section states that when a notice is issued under that section the Income tax Officer may proceed to assess or re assess such income profits or gains or recompute the loss or depreciation allowance and that  the provisions of this Act shall so far as may be apply accordingly as if the notice were a notice issued under sub section 2 of section 22
 This it is said attracts section 24 2
We need not decide whether this contention is well founded namely whether the assessee can claim to reopen the proceedings because even if he can we are of opinion that he cannot get what he asks for
There is no provision in the Act which entitles the assesses to have a loss recorded or computed unless something is to be done with the loss
Thus under section 24 1 a loss can be set off against an income profit or gain and under sub section 2 the balance of a loss can be carried forward to a following year on the conditions set out there
Except for this there is nothing else that can be called in aid
But under  sub section 2 the loss can be carried forward when 453 the loss cannot be wholly set
off under subsection 1 and in that event only the portion not so set off  can be carried forward
We are therefore
thrown back o sub section 1
Sub section 1 provides that where an assessee sustains a loss of profits or gains in any year under any of the heads mentioned in section 6 he shall be entitled to have the amount of the loss  set off against his income profits or gains under any other head in that year Therefore before any question of set off can arise there must be 1 a loss under one or more of the heads mentioned in section 6 and 2 an income profit or gain under some other head
It follows that when there is no income under any head at all there is nothing against which the loss can be set off in that year and unless that can be done sub section 2 does not come into play
Next a set off Under section 24 1 can only be claimed when the loss arises under one head and the profit against which it is sought to be set off arises under a different head
When the two arise under the same head of course the loss can be deducted but that is done under section 10 and not under section 24 1
See the decision of the Privy Council in Rm
Arunachalam Chettiar vs Commissioner of Income tax Madras 1
In the present case the loss is computed by striking a balance in the profit and loss account of just the one business and con sequently no question of different heads arises
On both these grounds therefore the assessee s contention must fail because unless the loss can be set off under sub section 1 of section 24 it cannot be carried forward under sub section 2 and if it cannot be carried forward the question of its determination and computation becomes irrelevant
The High Court proceeds on the ground that when proceedings are taken under section 34 the assesses 1 at 178 and 179
454 is not entitled to reopen the whole proceedings as the further proceedings are limited to assessing that portion of the income which has escaped assessment
We need not express any opinion on this
The question we have to answer is confined to the facts and circumstances of this case and those circumstances are 1 that no return was filed at any stage of the case disclosing any income profits or gains at all 2 that proceedings were later taken under section 34 and 3 in the course of these proceedings the assessee claimed that a certain loss should be determined and recorded
Our answer is that cannot be done for the reasons we have given and that consequently the question referred was rightly answered in the negative by the High Court
The appeal fails and is dismissed with costs
Appeal dismissed


Summary:
An assessee submitted a return showing the income as nil and this return was accepted by the Income tax Officer In the 449 next year the Income tax Officer sent a notice to the assessee under section 34 1 b calling for a fresh return
 The assesses submitted a return showing the income as nil  and a loss of Rs 392357 and claimed that the loss should be recorded and carried forward under section 24 2 of the Income tax Act
The loss was arrived at by striking a balance in the profit and loss account of just one business Held that the assessee was not entitled to have the loss determined and carried forward for two reasons first because when there is no income under any head at all there is nothing against which the loss can be set off in that year under section 24 1 and unless that can be done sub section
2 of section 24 does not come into play  secondly a set off under section 24 2 can only be claimed when the loss arises under one head and the profit against which it is sought to be set off under a different head
Quaere Whether when proceedings are taken under section 34 for the assessment of income which has escaped assessment the assesses is entitled to re open the whole proceedings