Agarwala, J. - (1.) THESE are three applications under Section 66(3), Indian Income-tax Act.
(2.) THE petitioner in all these three cases received notice of a decision of an appeal by the Income-tax Appellate Tribunal on 24-10-1950. He could apply for a reference to be "made to this Court under Section 66(1) of the Act within sixty days of the receipt of such notice. This period of sixty days expired on 23-13-1950. On 22-12-1950 the petitioner sent from Beawar in Ajmer State his application under Section 66 (1) to the Appellate Income-tax Tribunal at Delhi by registered post. The application way received by the Tribunal on 28-12-1950, that is, within time. On 22-12-1950, he also wanted to deposit the fee of Rs. 100/- which has to accompany the application under Section 66(1). By an extraordinary notification that day was declared to be a public holiday on account of the Barawafat festival so far as Government offices and treasuries were concerned. He could not, therefore, deposit the amount in the treasury and send the challan with the application on that date. He deposited the fee of Rs. 100/- in the treasury at Beawar on 23-12-1950, that is, within limitation and sent the challan that very day by registered post. The 24th and 25th of December being holidays, the challan was received by the Appellate Income-tax Tribunal on the 26th December, three days beyond time. The Tribunal held that the application was barred by time and dismissed it by an order dated 12-4-1951.
(3.) IN this case the petitioner has urged that the order of the INcome-tax Appellate Tribunal rejecting his application us barred by time was erroneous. Section 66(1) provides: "Within sixty days of the date upon which he is served with notice of an order under Sub-section (4) of Section 33, the assesses or the Commissioner may, by application in the prescribed form, accompanied, where application is made by the assessee, by a fee of one hundred rupees, require the Appellate Tribunal to refer to the High Court any question of law arising out of such order, and the Appellate Tribunal shall within ninety days of the receipt of such application draw up a statement of the case and refer it to the High Court." This section requires two things: (1) the application is to be made within 60 days, and (2) the application is to be accompanied by a fee of Rs. 100/-. Since the fee has to accompany the application it is obvious that the fee must also be paid within the period of 60 days. "Accompany" means "to go with'' or "attend as a companion or associate" or ''to go along with'' (see Webster's International Dictionary). So long as the application is made within the period of 60 days and so long as the fee of Rs. 100/-is also paid within 60 days, and it appears that the fee is "to go along with" the application it can be said that the application was made within 60 days accompanied by a fee of Rs. 100/- and in that case it is not necessary that physically the application and the fee should be presented at one and the same time. Where, for instance, an application is made 10 days before the expiry of the 60 days and the fee is paid 5 days before the expiry of the period and it is stated that the fee is in respect of the application already made, the application can be said to have been made on the date on which the fee was paid, because only then, it is a completed application. The intention of the law therefore cannot be that, although the application was made and the lee was paid within 60 days and the fee was in respect of the application and was to go with it, yet because they were not presented at one and the same time in company with each other, the application is defective. Therefore, the requirements of this section would be taken to have been complied with if the application was made and the fee was paid to the proper person within the period of 60 days. ;