- (1.) On an application under Section 256(2) of the Income-tax Act, 1961, this court has directed the Tribunal to refer the following question, sot out at page 2 of the application, for our opinion : "Whether, on the facts and in the circumstances of the case, the Tribunal was justified in law in holding that the liability arising in the relevant previous year under the Payment of Gratuity Act has to be allowed as deduction irrespective of the fact whether the assessee maintained an approved gratuity fund or not ?"
(2.) In pursuance of our direction, the Tribunal has referred the aforesaid question for our opinion.
(3.) The assessee is Anglo India Jute Mills Co. Ltd., and the assessment year involved is 1982-83. The assessee is a manufacturer of jute goods and claimed the deduction of Rs. 19,48,050 as contribution to the approved gratuity fund for the year. Apart from above, the assessee claimed deduction of Rs. 3,11,036 as actual payment of gratuity. The Assessing Officer found that when the assessee maintained an approved gratuity fund, the contribution of Rs. 19,48,050 was already allowed under Section 36(1)(v) of the Income-tax Act, 1961, there is no question of claiming the deduction on actual payment of gratuity at the time of retirement of the employee. He accordingly disallowed the claim of deduction for Rs. 3,11,036. In appeal, the Commissioner of Income-tax (Appeals), following the decision of the Supreme Court in the case of Shree Sajjan Mills Ltd. v. CIT [1985] 156 1TR 585, confirmed the disallowance.;