- (1.) THIS is a consolidated reference pertaining to the assessments of three years upon the assessee. The consolidation is due to the fact that common question of law arise pertaining to the three years.
(2.) THE assessee is the New India Assurance Co. Ltd. , Bombay, with its head office at Bombay. It has, however, branches and agencies all over the world. It used to carry on business in both life and general insurance, but the life insurance business was taken away from the assessee-company in consequence of the nationalization of the life insurance business which took effect from the 1st of September, 1956. Thereafter, the life insurance business was vested in the Life Insurance Corporation of India. It appears that in respect of the life business done by the assessee during the years in question before us, certain questions of law had arisen, but, since, under the statute, the liabilities as well as the assets are those of the Life Insurance Corporation, those questions are being agitated by the Life Insurance Corporation in separate proceedings even for the years of account with which we are concerned. The questions which arise in the present reference, therefore, are solely concerned with the general insurance business of the assessee for those years.
(3.) WE are concerned with the assessment years 1954-55, 1955-56 and 1956-57 corresponding to the account years which are the calendar years 1953, 1954 and 1955. In the assessment proceedings for the three years the assessee had, inter alia, claimed the following exemptions :;