Ownership for depreciation purposes failed where no dominion over the mills was shown under section 32.

Depreciation and development rebate under section 32 of the Income-tax Act, 1961 depended on whether the assessee could be treated as the owner of the mills. Although an earlier decision had accepted a broader meaning of "owned" where dominion over the asset was acquired, the record here did not show that the assessee had obtained such dominion. The Tribunal's finding did not support ownership on that basis, so the assessee could not claim depreciation or development rebate for the relevant assessment years.

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Issues: Whether the assessee was entitled to depreciation and development rebate under section 32 of the Income-tax Act, 1961, for the assessment years 1973-74 and 1974-75.

Analysis: The claim depended on whether the assessee could be treated as the owner of the mills for the purposes of section 32. Although a broader meaning of "owned" had been adopted in an earlier decision where dominion over the asset had been acquired, the record in the present case did not show that the assessee had acquired dominion over the mills. The finding of the Tribunal did not support the assessee's claim on that basis.

Conclusion: The assessee was not entitled to depreciation or development rebate under section 32 for the assessment years in question.

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