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TMI Blog1920 (5) TMI 1X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... by, the Court may refer the case back to the Revenue Authority by which it was stated, to make such additions thereto, or alterations therein, as the Court may direction that behalf. (3) The High Court upon the hearing of any such case shall decide the questions raised thereby, and shall deliver its judgment thereon containing the grounds on which such decision is bounded, and shall send to the Revenue Authority by which the case was stated, a copy of such judgment under the seal of the Court and the signature of the Registrar; and the Revenue Authority shall dispose of the case accordingly, or if the case arose on reference from any Revenue Officer subordinate to it, shall forward a copy of such judgment to such officer who shall dispose of the case conformably to such judgment. (4) Where a reference is made to the High Court on the application of an assessee, costs shall be in the discretion of the Court. 2. The question for determination is whether the Killing Valley Tea Co. are liable to be assessed on their annual profits under the income Tax Act. 3. When the Reference was taken up for consideration, a question of procedure was raised as to who should begin. W ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... of the expression agricultural income. The portion of the definition material for the determination of the question before us may be stated as follows: In this Act, unless there is anything repugnant in the subject or context, agricultural income means any income derived from. (i) agriculture, or. (ii) the performance by a cultivator or receiver of rent in kind of any process ordinarily employed by a cultivator or receiver of rent in kind to render the produce raised or received by him fit to be taken to market. 4. It cannot be disputed that Section 3, Sub-Section (I) makes the profits of the Company liable to assessment, unless such profits constitute agricultural income within the meaning of Section 4, read with Section 2, Clause (1). The Income Tax authorities have held that the profits do not constitute agricultural income, The Company maintain the opposite conclusion. We are of opinion that both the contentions are erroneous. 5. The process employed by the Company for the cultivation of tea bushes and manufacture of tea as a commercial commodity are thus described in their statement of case: After the tea bush has been planted and has arrived at a proper ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... oduce raised by him fit to be taken to market. 7. It appears to us to be clear, from the respective cases just set out, that the process in its entirety cannot be appropriately described as agriculture. The earlier part of the operation, when the tea bush is planted and the young green leaf is selected and plucked may well be deemed to be agriculture. But the later part of the process is really manufacture of tea, and cannot, without violence to language, be described as agriculture. Counsel for the Company appreciated this' difficulty, and made an endeavour to bring the case under the second Clause of the definition. That clause, in our opinion, cannot be applied to the case before us. The manufacture of tea as a marketable commodity from the green leaves cannot be held to be the performance by a cultivator of a process ordinarily employed by a cultivator to render the produce raised by him fit to be taken to market. The assertion of the Company that the actual leaf of the tea plant is of no value as a marketable commodity must be taken with a qualification. The green leaf is not a marketable commodity for immediate use as an article of food; but it is a marketable commodit ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ith a trade or business not so liable, is to sever the profits of the two businesses and assess accordingly. The appellant was the sole proprietor, editor, and publisher of the National Review and was assessed on the profits of this publication. The General Commissioners held that the appellant was exempt from the duty, as he was the chief contributor to the Review and thus carried on the profession of a journalist, the profits of which depended mainly on his personal qualifications within the meaning of Section 39(c) of the Finance Act, 1915. On appeal, Sankey, J, set aside the order for exemption as, in his opinion, the appellant was not in the position of an ordinary journalist receiving remuneration for articles contributed to the press, but derived his profits from the sale of a commodity, thereby carrying on an ordinary commercial business. The Court of Appeal reversed this decision and directed that the profits should be apportioned, even though the apportionment might be a difficult operation. The truth was, as Warrington, L.J., pointed out, that the profits were derived from two businesses, one of which was a profession exempt from duty, while the other was not so exempt a ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... 0 L.J. M.C. 202 : 24 L.T. 889 : 20 W.R. 554, Fermoy Peeragi Claim (1856) 5 H.L.C. 716 : 101 R.R. 342 : 10 K.B. 1089, Goldsmiths Co. v. Wyatt (1905) 2 K.B. 586 : 74 L.J.K. B. 822 : 93 L.T. 515 : 21 T.L.R. 654 But as Channell, J., observed in the case last mentioned, where the Court is nailed upon to construe an Act of Parliament expressed in unambiguous language, it ought to put its own construction upon it, regardless of the construction that has been commonly put upon it; the fact that a mistaken interpretation has been generally put upon it cannot alter the law. To the same effect are the observations in Baleshwat Bagarti v. Bhagirathi Dass 35 C.701 : 7 C.L.J. 563 : 12 C.W.N. 657. It is 8 well-settled principle of interpretation that Courts, in construing a Statute, will give much weight to the interpretation put upon it, at the time of its enactment and since by those whose duty it has been to construe, execute and apply it. I do not suggest for a moment that such interpretation has by any means a controlling effect upon the Courts; such interpretation may, if occasion arises, have to be disregarded for cogent and persuasive reasons, and, is a clear case of error, a Court would ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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