Income-tax Act,1961
Act No : 43
Section :
Assessment as a firm
1[184. Assessment as a firm (1) A firm shall be assessed as a firm for the purposes of this Act, if- (i) the partnership is evidenced by an instrument; and (ii) the individual shares of the partners are specified in that instrument. (2) A certified copy of the instrument of partnership referred to in sub-section (1) shall accompany the return of income of the firm of the previous year relevant to the assessment year commencing on or after the 1st day of April, 1993, in respect of which assessment as a firm is first sought. Explanation.-For the purposes of this sub-section, the copy of the instrument of partnership shall be certified in writing by all the partners (not being minors) or, where the return is made after the dissolution of the firm by all persons (not being minors) who were partners in the firm immediately before its dissolution and by the legal representative of any such partner who is deceased. (3) Where a firm is assessed as such for any assessment year, it shall be assessed in the same capacity for every subsequent year if there is no change in the constitution of the firm or the shares of the partners as evidenced by the instrument of partnership on the basis of which the assessment as a firm was first sought. (4) Where any such change had taken place in the previous year, the firm shall furnish a certified copy of the revised instrument of partnership along with the return of income for the assessment year relevant to such previous year and all the provisions of this section shall apply accordingly. (5)Notwithstanding anything contained in the foregoing provisions of this section, where, in respect of any assessment year, there is on the part of a firm any such failure as is mentioned in section 144, the firm shall not be assessed as such for the said assessment year and, thereupon, the firm shall be assessed in the same manner as an association of persons, and all the provisions of this Act shall apply accordingly. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 Substituted for the chapter sub-heading "B.-Registration of firms" and the following sections 184, 185 and 186 by the Finance Act, 1992, w.e.f. 1-4-1993. Section 184: Prior to the substitution, section 184, as originally enacted and subsequently amended, as annotated below, read as under: *[B.-Registration of firms "184. Application for registration.-(1) An application for registration of a firm for the purposes of this Act may be made to the Assessing Officer on behalf of any firm, if- (i) the partnership is evidenced by an instrument; and (ii) the individual shares of the partners are specified in that instrument. (2) Such application may, subject to the provisions of this section, be made either during the existence of the firm or after its dissolution. (3) The application shall be made to the Assessing Officer having jurisdiction to assess the firm, and shall be signed- (a) by all the partners (not being minors) personally; or (b) in the case of a dissolved firm, by all persons (not being minors) who were partners in the firm immediately before its dissolution and by the -> -> ----------------------------------------------------------------------- 1.600 -> ->legal representative of any such partner who is deceased. Explanation.-In the case of any partner who is absent from India or is a lunatic or an idiot, the application may be signed by any person duly authorised by him in this behalf, or, as the case may be, by a person entitled under law to represent him. (4) The application shall be made before the end of the previous year for the assessment year in respect of which registration is sought: Provided that the Assessing Officer may entertain an application made after the end of the previous year, if he is satisfied that the firm was prevented by sufficient cause from making the application before the end of the previous year. (5) The application shall be accompanied by the original instrument evidencing the partnership, together with a copy thereof: Provided that if the Assessing Officer is satisfied that for sufficient reason the original instrument cannot conveniently be produced, he may accept a copy of it certified in writing by all the partners (not being minors), or, where the application is made after the dissolution of the firm, by all the persons referred to in clause (b) of subsection (3), to be a correct copy, or a certified copy of the instrument; and in such cases the application shall be accompanied by a duplicate copy of the original instrument. (6) The application shall be made in the prescribed form and shall contain the prescribed particulars. (7) Where registration is granted [or is deemed to have been granted] to any firm for any assessment year, it shall have effect for every subsequent assessment year: Provided that- (i) there is no change in the constitution of the firm or the shares of the partners as evidenced by the instrument of partnership on the basis of which the registration was granted; and **[(ii) the firm furnishes, before the expiry of the time allowed under [sub-section (1) of section 139] for furnishing the return of income for such subsequent assessment year, a declaration to that effect, in the prescribed form and verified in the prescribed manner, so, however, that where the Assessing Officer is satisfied that the firm was prevented by sufficient cause from furnishing the declaration within the time so allowed, he may allow the firm to furnish the declaration at any time before the assessment is made. (8)Where any such change has taken place in the previous year, the firm shall apply for fresh registration for the assessment year concerned in accordance with the provisions of this section." * Restored to their original provision by the Direct Tax Laws (Amendment) Act, 1989, w.e.f. 1-4-1989. Earlier, the chapter sub- heading and,sections 184, 185 and 186 were substituted by the Direct Tax Laws (Amendment) Act, 1987, with effect from the same date.
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