Section 184

B. Registration of firms

Application for registration.

184. (1) An application for registration of a firm for the purposes of this Act may be made to the Income-tax 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 Income-tax 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 legal representative of any such partners 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 Income-tax 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 Income-tax 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 sub-section (3), to be a correct copy, or a certified copy of the instrument ; and in such cases the application shall be accompanied by 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 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

¹[(ii) the firm furnishes, before the expiry of the time allowed under subsection (1) or sub-section (2) of section 139 (whether fixed originally or on extension) 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 Income-tax 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.

[As amended by the Finance Act, 1974]