23[Assessment as a firm.
184. (1) A firm shall be assessed as
a firm for the purposes of this Act, if—
(i) the partnership is evidenced by an instrument24 ;
and
(ii) the individual shares of the partners are
specified25 in that instrument24.
(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 income26 for the assessment year relevant to such
previous year and all the provisions of this section shall apply accordingly.
27[(5) Notwithstanding anything contained in any other provision of this
Act, 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 be so assessed that no deduction by way of any payment of
interest, salary, bonus, commission or remuneration, by whatever name called,
made by such firm to any partner of such firm shall be allowed in computing the
income chargeable under the head “Profits and gains of business or profession”
and such interest, salary, bonus, commission or remuneration shall not be
chargeable to income-tax under clause (v) of section
28.]
