Trustee taxation of agricultural income is governed by the special trustee provision, not tenancy-in-common or residual assessment rules.

Section 3(3) of the Karnataka Agricultural Income-tax Act applies only where agricultural property is held as tenants-in-common, and it does not extend to a trustee merely because the income is enjoyed partly by the trustee and partly by beneficiaries. A trustee holding land for beneficiaries remains in a fiduciary capacity, so the special trustee-assessment rule in section 10(1)(a) governs income receivable on behalf of another person, including mixed beneficial enjoyment. Section 10(2)(a) is residual and applies only where section 10(1)(a) does not. The article thus treats trustee-held agricultural income as falling within the trustee provision rather than the tenancy-in-common or residual provisions.

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Issues: (i) Whether section 3(3) of the Karnataka Agricultural Income-tax Act, 1957 applies where agricultural land is held by a trustee and income is received partly for his own benefit and partly for the benefit of others; (ii) whether assessment in such a case is governed by section 10(1)(a) or section 10(2)(a) of the Karnataka Agricultural Income-tax Act, 1957.

Issue (i): Whether section 3(3) of the Karnataka Agricultural Income-tax Act, 1957 applies where agricultural land is held by a trustee and income is received partly for his own benefit and partly for the benefit of others.

Analysis: Section 3(3) applies only where property is held as tenants-in-common and agricultural income is derived accordingly. A trustee holding land for the benefit of beneficiaries does not hold the property as tenants-in-common merely because the income is enjoyed partly by himself and partly by others.

Conclusion: Section 3(3) does not apply to a trustee in such a case.

Issue (ii): Whether assessment in such a case is governed by section 10(1)(a) or section 10(2)(a) of the Karnataka Agricultural Income-tax Act, 1957.

Analysis: Section 10(1)(a) covers agricultural income receivable by a trustee on behalf of another person, and the expression was construed in the sense of receiving for the benefit of such person. A trustee who receives income partly for his own benefit and partly for the benefit of others still receives it in his fiduciary capacity, and the statutory definition of 'person' accommodates such mixed beneficial holding. Section 10(2)(a) operates only where the case is not covered by section 10(1)(a).

Conclusion: Assessment is to be made under section 10(1)(a) and not under section 10(2)(a).

Final Conclusion: A trustee receiving agricultural income partly for himself and partly for others is assessable under the special trustee provision, while the tenancy-in-common and residual assessment provisions have no application.

Ratio Decidendi: Where a trustee receives agricultural income for mixed beneficial enjoyment, the receipt is treated as being for the benefit of the beneficiaries within the trustee-assessment provision, and the residual or tenancy-based provisions cannot displace it.

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