Industrial company status for cotton processing was already settled, so no fresh reference to the Tribunal was required.

Where the assessee's ginning and pressing of cotton had already been held to amount to processing, the court found the issue settled by an earlier decision in the assessee's own case and saw no fresh referable question on whether it was an industrial company. As the legal position had already been determined against the Revenue's contention, no direction to the Tribunal under section 256(2) was warranted. The applications were rejected, leaving the assessee's status as an industrial company undisturbed on this point.

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Issues: Whether a referable question arose for directing the Tribunal to state the case under section 256(2) of the Income-tax Act, 1961 on the issue whether an assessee engaged in ginning and pressing of cotton could be treated as an industrial company.

Analysis: The question was already covered by an earlier decision in the assessee's own case, which had followed the view that conversion of loose cotton into cotton bales by pressing amounted to processing and brought the assessee within the definition of an industrial company. The legal position had thus been settled against the Revenue's contention, leaving no fresh referable question for opinion.

Conclusion: No such question arose for reference. The applications seeking a direction to the Tribunal were rejected, effectively in favour of the assessee.

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