ITAT allowed the assessee's appeal, holding that income from the...

ITAT allowed the assessee's appeal, holding that income from the sale of cut/sized Silver Oak trees grown as shade trees in a tea estate constitutes "agricultural income" and not taxable capital gains. Relying on binding HC precedent that shade trees in tea estates are "agricultural produce," the Tribunal ruled that proceeds from their sale fall squarely within the definition of agricultural income under the Income-tax Act. The Department's representative failed to distinguish or rebut the HC ruling, and the assessment treating such receipts as capital gains was set aside.

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