9911796707
TMI Blog1990 (3) TMI 23X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... essee has claimed relief under section 80J of Rs. 1,88,794. The tax holiday period expired with the assessment year 1972-73, the first year being 1968-69. The assessee was allowed to change its accounting year from December 31, 1969, to May 31, 1970, with the result there was no taxable income for assessment for the assessment year 1970-71. How ever, for the purpose of calculation of four immediately succeeding assessment years to the initial year of 1968-69, the assessment year 1970-71 is also reckoned." Aggrieved, the assessee filed an appeal before the Appellate Assistant Commissioner contending that actually there was no assessment for the assessment year 1970-71 and hence the Income-tax Officer was not justified in including the assessment year 1970-71 also for the purpose of calculating the number of years during which the assessee was entitled to deduction under section 80J. However, the Appellate Assistant Commissioner rejected the contentions put forward by the assessee and confirmed the order passed by the Income-tax Officer. As against the order passed by the Appellate Assistant Commissioner the assessee filed an appeal before the Tribunal. The Tribunal, after consider ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... lowed in computing the total income in respect of the assessment year relevant to the previous year in which the industrial undertaking begins to manufacture or produce articles or to operate its cold storage plant or plants or the ship is first brought into use or the business of the hotel starts functioning (such assessment year being hereafter, in this section, referred to as the initial assessment year) and each of the four assessment years immediately succeeding the initial assessment year." What is meant by assessment year is defined under section 2(9) of the Act as under : "`assessment year' means the period of twelve months commencing on the first day of April every year." In this case, it is not disputed that the initial assessment year as referred to in section 80J(2) was the assessment year 1968-69 consisting of a period of twelve months commencing from April 1, 1968. Section 4 of the Act is the charging section, which reads as under: "4. (1) Where any Central Act enacts that income-tax shall be charged for any assessment year at any rate or rates, income-tax at that rate or those rates shall be charged for that year in accordance with, and subject to the provisi ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... no assessment was made for the year 1970-71 due to change allowed in the previous year. That is because the last date of the changed previous year did not fall within the financial year preceding the assessment year 1970-71. So far as the present case is concerned, the initial assessment year is 1968-69 and the four assessment years immediately succeeding the initial assessment years are 1969-70, 1970-71, 1971-72 and 1972-73. The relief contemplated under section 80J(2) came to an end with the assessment year 1972-73. Therefore, the assessment year 1973-74 falls outside the scope of section 80J(2) of the Act. Hence, the assessee is not entitled to the relief asked for under section 80J(2) in the assessment year 1973-74. The words "immediately succeeding assessment years" appear in several other provisions such as section 72(3), etc. Under such circumstances, the Tribunal rightly pointed out that the concept of "assessment year" has got to be understood in the manner prescribed under the provisions of the Act and not with reference to particular assessee as canvassed for by learned counsel appearing for the assessee. Our attention was drawn to a decision of this court rendered in ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... e expressions used therein should ordinarily be understood in a sense in which they best harmonise with the object of the statute and which effectuate the object of the Legislature. In interpreting statute, the court cannot ignore the aim and object." So also while interpreting the provisions contained in section 15C(2).(i) of the Indian Income-tax Act, 1922, the Bombay High Court in the case of Capsulation Services Pvt. Ltd. v. CIT [1973] 91 ITR 566 at page 570 held as under : "The scheme of the section is to encourage new industrial undertakings provided they fulfil the conditions mentioned in the various clauses of the sub-section. In order to be entitled to exemption an assessee must strictly come within the terms of the provisions under which such exemption is being claimed, but in construing the provisions of this section, one must construe the said section reasonably in the context of the purpose for which the section has been introduced. It is a well-settled canon of construction that the provision relating to exemption must as far as possible be liberally construed and in favour of the assessee provided in doing so no violence was being done to the language used." Ye ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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