TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
1959 (10) TMI 31
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....ties and refer it to the High Court of Judicature at Madras under section 66(1) of the Indian Income-tax Act. 2. The assessee is a private limited company owning buses and lorries. Its business is that of transport of passengers and goods. In the year ending on December 31, 1954, corresponding to the assessment year 1955-56 it purchased a number of new vehicles. It claimed a development rebate of Rs. 60,745 under section 10(2)(vib) of the Income-tax Act on the value of these vehicles. There is no dispute as to the amount. The Income-tax Officer disallowed the claim as, in his opinion, this rebate is admissible in respect of plant and machinery newly installed during the year and that vehicles like buses and motor cars do not qualify for ....
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....tant Commissioner was of the view that though the same word, viz., " installed " has been used in both the sections, a stricter interpretation of that word was called for when it is used in regard to development rebate. He considered the dictionary meaning of that word and came to the conclusion that some kind of fixing up of the apparatus or plant and machinery was necessary and that, as buses do not require to be fixed up anywhere, development rebate was not allowable. His order is annexure ' A ' and forms part of the case. 6. On further appeal to the Tribunal, it accepted the interpretation placed by the assessee on the word "install" and allowed the appeal. The order of the Tribunal is annexure ' B ' and forms part of....
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....s, books, scientific apparatus and surgical equipment purchased for the purposes of the business, profession or vocation. It should be clear that the expression "plant or machinery installed" should be given the same meaning both in section 10(2)(via) and section 10(2)(vib). That the buses and lorries come within the scope of the statutory expression "plant" is not disputed. What the learned counsel for the Department urged was that in the case of buses and lorries the further requirement of section 10(2)(vib) that they should be "installed" before the development rebate is allowable, has not been satisfied. The word "installed" itself has not been statutorily defined. In view of the extended statutory definition of the word "plant" in s....
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....tisfied by the assessee because such installation as the buses and lorries were capable of was completed. The learned counsel for the Department urged that the requirement of installation with reference to plant and machinery could not possibly be satisfied by a bus or a lorry. Learned counsel could not support an extreme. contention, that installation necessarily meant something fixed to earth and thereby becoming immoveable. When we pointed out that a mobile van with moveable machinery for carrying out the repairs in the case of a bus operator was a familiar example and any machinery purchased and used for such a mobile unit would be machinery "installed", learned counsel could not challenge that position. That is why we said the word ....