Q.In the absence of a partnership deed, how do partners share the profits and losses of the firm under the Indian Partnership Act, 1932?
(A) In the ratio of the capital contributed by each partner
(B) Equally, irrespective of the capital contributed by each partner
(C) In the ratio decided by a majority vote of the partners
(D) In proportion to the time each partner devotes to the business

Section 13(b) of the Indian Partnership Act, 1932 lays down a specific default rule for exactly this situation.

Capital contribution, majority vote, and time devoted are all irrelevant to the DEFAULT rule unless the partnership deed specifically says otherwise.

Why (B) is correct: Section 13(b) of the Indian Partnership Act, 1932 states that, in the absence of a contract to the contrary, partners are entitled to share equally in the profits earned, and must contribute equally to the losses sustained by the firm — this applies regardless of how much capital each partner actually contributed.

Why the distractors are wrong:

• (A) wrongly assumes capital-proportionate sharing is the default — it is not; a deed could specify this, but the DEFAULT rule is equal sharing.
• (C) invents a majority-vote mechanism with no basis in Section 13.
• (D) wrongly ties profit-sharing to time devoted — Section 13(a) separately provides that a partner is not even entitled to remuneration for taking part in the business, merely by doing so.

Students often assume profit-sharing must logically follow capital contribution. Remember: EQUAL sharing is the legal default whenever the deed is silent — capital-based sharing only applies if the partners have specifically agreed to it in the deed.