Motor lorry classification for depreciation extends to three-wheeled goods carriers used for transporting goods.

Three-wheeled motorised goods carriers were treated as "motor lorries" for depreciation purposes because the relevant classification turned on their commercial and functional use, not on the number of wheels. The depreciation schedule in Appendix I, Part I, Item III-D(9) of the Income-tax Rules grants 30 per cent depreciation to motor buses, motor lorries, motor taxis and tractors, and the ordinary meaning of lorry or truck was applied to vehicles used for transporting goods. As the vehicles were admittedly used for carrying goods, they were excluded from the lower-rate category for motor cars, motor cycles, scooters or mopeds and allowed depreciation at 30 per cent.

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Issues: Whether three-wheeled motorised vehicles used for transporting goods fall within the depreciation entry for "motor lorries" and are entitled to depreciation at 30 per cent rather than 20 per cent.

Analysis: The depreciation schedule in Appendix I, Part I, Item III-D(9) of the Income-tax Rules grants 30 per cent depreciation to "motor buses, motor lorries, motor taxis, tractors". The decisive consideration was the nature of the vehicle's use and the ordinary commercial meaning of "lorry" and "truck", which emphasise transport of goods rather than the number of wheels. Since the three-wheelers were admittedly used for carrying goods, they were treated as motor lorries in the popular and functional sense. They were therefore not to be placed in the lower-rate category meant for motor cars, motor cycles, scooters or mopeds.

Conclusion: The three-wheeled goods carriers were held entitled to depreciation at 30 per cent, and the assessee succeeded on the issue.

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