1973 (7) TMI 30

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....ricultural income from the land used for raising elephant grass was estimated at Rs. 4,047. The assessment for that year along with the assessment for the earlier years was challenged before the Appellate Assistant Commissioner but without success. On a further appeal, the Agricultural Income-tax Appellate Tribunal has upheld the order of assessment in relation to the assessment year in question. Before us, the learned counsel for the assessee contends that the assessment to agricultural income-tax for the assessment year cannot be sustained. He raises substantially three contentions: (1) that the assessee cultivated the elephant grass only in 8.04 acres of land and as this extent falls far below the minimum extent of 12 1/2 standard acr....

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.... in the earlier years the assessee has cultivated elephant grass in more than 12 1/2 standard acres. Therefore, the assessee has held lands more than the exempted limit referred to in section 10 of the Act during the assessment year. The fact that the assessee chose to cultivate only in a portion of the agricultural lands held by it will not make it any the less assessable under the provisions of the Act. The learned counsel refers to the definition of " land " in section 2(nnn) of the Act and points out that it is only the land which is used for agricultural purposes in the assessment year that can be taken into account for the purpose of section 10. But it is not possible for us to accept this contention, for the definition of " land "....

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....t be taken to be governed by the provisions of the Act. But the question here is whether the 8.04 acres of land wherein elephant grass have been cultivated by the assessee can be taken to be land used exclusively for pasture. According to the learned counsel for the assessee, if lands in which fodder crops are raised for feeding cattle, then such lands should be deemed to be lands used for pasture. We are not inclined to accept the submission made by the learned counsel. Normally, pasture land is a land in which grass or other herbage has spontaneously grown and where sheep or cattle are allowed to graze. By any stretch of imagination, we cannot treat the land, in which agricultural operations have been carried on to raise elephant grass as....