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TMI Blog1961 (9) TMI 84X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... or irrigation purposes to farmers. The assessee is an individual and derives income from various sources, one of which is the supply of water for irrigation purposes to farmers. In the assessment for the assessment years 1951-52, 1952-53 and 1953-54, the relevant accounting years for which were those ending on the 31st of March, 1951, 31st of March, 1952, and 31st of March, 1953, respectively, the assessee claimed depreciation on the storage water tanks constructed by him. Before the Income-tax Officer the claim for depreciation was on the basis of the asset being a Building and Embankment and depreciation was claimed at 2 per cent. The claim was disallowed by the Income-tax Officer, because according to him the asset was not one for ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... Commissioner, the department went in appeal to the Tribunal. The Tribunal took the view that there was no provision in the schedule to rule 8 which permitted allowance of depreciation in respect of water storage tanks. In its opinion, no analogy was permissible in respect of any other water storage tank with the storage tanks used as an asset of salt works under clause III(3)/B of the schedule to rule 8 for the purpose of allowing depreciation thereon. It, therefore, allowed the appeal of the department in so far as the depreciation allowed by the Appellate Assistant Commissioner was concerned. At the instance of the assessee the Tribunal drew up a statement and referred the question of law arising from its order to this court, which has be ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... , therefore, included within that term a large number of items including reservoirs. Thus, he says, in connection with the salt works, reservoirs have been definitely specified as plant entitled to have a certain specific rate in the matter of depreciation allowance. The item of reservoirs in the salt works is contained in the class of items where special rates have been provided for under the schedule. The specification of the reservoir in the item of salt works has been contained in the schedule for the reason that a special rate has been provided in respect of that reservoir but the very fact that the item of reservoir has been specified as an item of plant for special rates sufficiently indicates that reservoir is regarded as plant by t ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... usive of its raw materials or the manufactured product. In other words, this extended meaning has reference to capital invested in the manufacturing trade or business excepting that spent on the raw material or the manufactured product. Now, there is no manufacturing or industrial business involved in the present case. The water storage tank of the assessee is nothing but a container for the water, which is the stock-in-trade of the assessee. In our opinion, neither the primary meaning nor the extended meaning of the word plant given in the dictionary will enable us to hold that the container of the stock-in-trade of a business is a plant within the meaning of section 10(2)(vi) of the Indian Income-tax Act. As to the other argument of ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... nue account and the knives and lasts were not plant or machinery. It was held that the knives and lasts were machinery or plant and the expenditure on them was capital expenditure. It was observed by Lord Reid in that case as follows: It is not disputed that 'plant' is also used in the Act as an ordinary English word. It is not altogether an easy word to construe : it may have a more or less extensive meaning according to its context. As a general statement of its meaning I would adopt the words of Lindley L.J. in Yarmouth v. France [1887] 19 QBD 647, 658: 'In its ordinary sense, it includes whatever apparatus is used by a businessman for carrying on his business-not his stock-in-trade which he buys or makes for sale; ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... plant is capable of being given an extensive meaning and, if such extensive meaning is given, the water storage tank used for the purpose of the business of the assessee would come within the definition of the word plant . In our view even the extended meaning, which has been given to the word plant in these observations, does not take it beyond the apparatus or instruments as are used by a businessman in carrying on his business. In order that the assessee may succeed it must be held that not only the instruments or the apparatus used in connection with the business but even the container of the stock-in-trade would come within the meaning of the word plant . Neither on the dictionary meaning nor on the meaning given in the judic ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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