1985 (10) TMI 58 - HC - Income Tax

Approach Road Leading To Industrial Unit, Deduction, Depreciation, Developement Rebate, New Industrial Undertaking, Obsolescence

Issues Involved:
1. Deduction for items wrongly capitalized under section 32(1)(iii) of the Income-tax Act, 1961.
2. Inclusion of grant-in-aid in computing capital for purposes of deduction under section 84 (now section 80J) of the Income-tax Act.
3. Deduction of debts and liabilities while computing capital for purposes of deduction under section 84 (now section 80J) of the Income-tax Act.
4. Entitlement to depreciation and development rebate on the cost of approach roads.
5. Inclusion of half of the profits of the baby food unit and cheese unit in the computation of capital for purposes of relief under section 84 of the Income-tax Act.

Detailed Analysis:

1. Deduction for Items Wrongly Capitalized under Section 32(1)(iii):
The assessee, a co-operative milk producers' union, claimed a loss under section 32(1)(iii) of the Income-tax Act for non-existing stock discovered during an inventory taken after eighteen years. The Tribunal held that the assessee was not entitled to this deduction, as the items were not "destroyed" in the previous year and were merely found missing during the inventory. The court affirmed this view, stating that the deficiency must be actually written off in the books of the assessee and the articles must be destroyed in the previous year to qualify for the deduction.

2. Inclusion of Grant-in-aid in Computing Capital for Deduction under Section 84 (now Section 80J):
The assessee received grant-in-aid from the Government of Gujarat for purchasing equipment. The Tribunal held that this grant could not be included in the capital computation for deduction purposes under section 84. The court referred to its earlier decision in CIT v. Kaira District Co.op. Milk Producers' Union Ltd. [1979] 116 ITR 319, which held that the grant-in-aid should not be taken into account in computing the capital employed. Thus, questions (2) and (4) were answered in the affirmative, favoring the Revenue.

3. Deduction of Debts and Liabilities while Computing Capital for Deduction under Section 84 (now Section 80J):
The Tribunal had deducted debts and liabilities while computing the capital employed for deduction under section 84. This decision was upheld by the Supreme Court in Lohia Machines Ltd. v. Union of India [1985] 152 ITR 308, which validated the deduction of debts and liabilities under rule 19A(3). Consequently, questions (3) and (5) were answered in the affirmative, favoring the Revenue.

4. Entitlement to Depreciation and Development Rebate on the Cost of Approach Roads:
The Tribunal allowed both depreciation and development rebate for the cost of approach roads, considering them as "plant" under sections 32 and 33. However, the court, referring to the Elecon Engineering Co. Ltd. case [1974] 96 ITR 672, held that roads do not qualify as "plant" as they are part of the premises and not used directly in business operations. The court concluded that the approach roads should be treated as buildings for depreciation purposes but not as plant for development rebate. Thus, questions (6) and (8) were answered in the negative, against the assessee.

5. Inclusion of Half of the Profits of Baby Food Unit and Cheese Unit in Capital Computation:
The Tribunal included half of the profits from the baby food and cheese units in the capital computation for section 84 relief. This decision was consistent with the court's earlier ruling in CIT v. Elecon Engineering Co. Ltd. [1976] 104 ITR 510. Therefore, question (7) was answered in the affirmative, favoring the assessee.

Conclusion:
The court's judgment addressed multiple issues concerning the computation of capital and the eligibility for deductions and rebates under the Income-tax Act. The decisions were guided by precedents and interpretations of relevant statutory provisions, ultimately favoring the Revenue on most counts except for the inclusion of profits in capital computation.

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