Industrial company status for flight kitchen activity must be decided before income-computation issues on remand.

On remand, the Income-tax Officer had to decide first whether the assessee's flight kitchen activity qualified it as an industrial or manufacturing company, and only thereafter examine the income-computation issue. The Tribunal's remand could not be read as permitting computation of the percentage of income from that activity before determining the foundational status question. The later Kerala High Court ruling in Anjali Hotels (P.) Ltd. was treated as prima facie relevant, and the assessing authority was directed to consider that decision together with relevant Tribunal and higher court authorities while determining the nature of the activity. The requested clarification was declined and the application rejected.

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Issues: Whether, on remand, the Income-tax Officer was required first to decide if the assessee's flight kitchen activity constituted an activity qualifying it as an industrial or manufacturing company, and to take into account later High Court authority on the point.

Analysis: The Tribunal's remand could not be understood as authorising computation of the percentage of income from the flight kitchen activity before deciding the foundational question whether that activity itself entitled the assessee to industrial company status. The later decision of the Kerala High Court in Anjali Hotels (P.) Ltd. was held to have prima facie relevance, and the Income-tax Officer was directed to consider Tribunal decisions along with that decision while determining the nature of the assessee's activity. In remand proceedings, the assessing authority was required to take note of subsequent decisions of the High Courts and the Supreme Court relevant to the issue.

Conclusion: The Income-tax Officer was required to decide first whether the flight kitchen activity qualified the assessee as an industrial or manufacturing company, and only then to examine the income computation question; the clarification sought was declined and the application was rejected.

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