Investment allowance and higher depreciation on dumpers depended on proof of their actual mining use, so remand for factual verification was upheld.

Entitlement to investment allowance and higher depreciation on dumpers depended on proof of their actual use as mining machinery rather than road transport vehicles. The available material did not establish how the dumpers were used in the relevant year, and the Tribunal had already recognised that eligibility could not be decided merely from the description of the vehicles. Because the factual record was incomplete and no proper enquiry had been made, remand to the Assessing Officer for further verification was warranted, and that direction was upheld.

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Issues: Whether the Tribunal was justified in remitting the matter to the Assessing Officer to determine, on further enquiry, whether the dumpers were used as road transport vehicles or purely as mining machinery so as to decide the assessee's claim for investment allowance and higher depreciation.

Analysis: The available material did not establish the actual use of the dumpers during the relevant year. The Tribunal had earlier held that dumpers are not automatically eligible or ineligible merely by description, and that entitlement depends on proof that they were used exclusively as mining machinery. As the necessary facts were not on record and no proper enquiry had been made, a remand to the Assessing Officer for factual verification was warranted.

Conclusion: The Tribunal's direction to make further enquiry and restore the matter to the Assessing Officer was upheld.

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