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Issues Involved:
1. Whether the cash assistance rendered by the STC was a trading receipt. 2. Whether general administration expenditure in India qualified for weighted deduction under section 35B of the Income-tax Act, 1961. 3. Whether weighted deduction under section 35B is allowable in respect of the assessee's claim of Rs. 6,05,935. 4. Whether the sum of Rs. 5,96,128 related to previous year's adjustments is admissible as expenditure for the accounting year relevant to the assessment year 1970-71. Issue-wise Detailed Analysis: Issue 1: Cash Assistance as Trading Receipt The court examined whether the cash assistance of Rs. 11,70,000 received by the assessee from the STC was a trading receipt. The Tribunal had previously ruled in favor of the assessee, and the court upheld this decision. The court found that the assistance was similar to amounts received in earlier years, which were considered as contributions of capital to recoup losses. The court stated: "In all the years it is only a case of a cent. per cent. holding company coming to the rescue of its subsidiary which has incurred losses and enabling it to recoup those losses and continue to carry on the business in spite of such losses." Therefore, the sum of Rs. 11,70,000 was not a trading receipt. Issue 2: General Administration Expenditure and Weighted Deduction The court reviewed whether the general administration expenditure of Rs. 6,64,387 qualified for weighted deduction under section 35B. The Tribunal had allowed only Rs. 30,000 out of the total claim. The court noted that the Tribunal did not perform a detailed analysis of the various items of administrative expenditure. The court emphasized the need for a meticulous analysis to correlate the expenditure to the activities specified in section 35B(1)(b). The court stated: "We are, however, of opinion that the question cannot be answered on the materials available in the printed papers and will require an item-wise examination of the constituent elements of the administrative expenses incurred by the assessee and a meticulous analysis to arrive at the extent to which such expenditure can be correlated to the eight categories of activities described in cl. (b)." Issue 3: Weighted Deduction for Specific Claims The court examined the weighted deduction claims of Rs. 6,05,935, which included customs duty, freight, purchases, and differences in exchange. The Tribunal had disallowed these items. The court held that: - Customs duty of Rs. 5,18,435 was deductible under section 35B(1)(b)(iii). - Freight of Rs. 2,356 was not deductible as it was expenditure on the carriage of goods to their destination outside India. - Purchases of Rs. 66,156 and differences in exchange of Rs. 18,988 required further examination and were remanded to the Tribunal for detailed analysis. Issue 4: Previous Year's Adjustments The court found that the Tribunal did not adequately address the assessee's claim regarding the sum of Rs. 5,96,128. The court noted that the Tribunal's order had two defects: it did not discuss the various items in dispute, and it confused the items with those under question No. 3. The court declined to answer the question and remanded the issue to the Tribunal for reconsideration. The court stated: "As the Tribunal has not considered the relevant facts or given any findings either in regard to the aggregate amount or the component amounts thereof vis-a-vis the ground of disallowance, namely, that they did not relate to the accounting year relevant to the assessment year 1970-71 we have no other option but to decline to answer the question." Conclusion: The court answered the first question in favor of the assessee, holding that the cash assistance was not a trading receipt. For questions Nos. 2 and 3, the court remanded the issues back to the Tribunal for a detailed analysis. The court declined to answer question No. 4 and remanded it to the Tribunal for reconsideration. The references were disposed of accordingly, with no order as to costs.
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