TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
1988 (2) TMI 26
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....see who is a chemical engineer by profession has his only source of income from a business carried on in the Industrial Estate under the self-employment scheme. For the assessment year 1973-74, he had returned an income of Rs. 20,184 against which he claimed unabsorbed depreciation and development allowance of earlier years of Rs. 5,163 as well as relief under section 80J of the Income-tax Act, 1961 (hereinafter referred to as the " Act "), to the extent of Rs. 15,869. The Income-tax Officer did not allow the relief under section 80J as, according to him, the assessee did not satisfy the condition laid down in section 80J(4)(iv) as he could not be considered to be a worker employed in the undertaking as contemplated by section 80J(4)(iv) of....
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....t of this order of the Tribunal, the question reproduced above falls for consideration. It is not in dispute that in so far as this case is concerned, the relevant statutory provision is in clause (iv) of section 80J(4) of the Act. The relevant part of section 80J(4) reads as follows: " This section applies to any industrial undertaking which fulfils all the following conditions, namely : ...... (iv) in a case where the industrial undertaking manufactures or produces articles, the undertaking employs ten or more workers in manufacturing process carried on with the aid of power, or employs twenty or more workers in a manufacturing process carried on without the aid of power. " It is not in dispute that if the assessee himself is ....
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....manuja Match Industries [1985] 66 FJR 108 ; [1985] 1 SCC 218 ; in which the question which fell for consideration before the Supreme Court was whether partner of a firm is an " employee " within the meaning of section 2(9) of the Employees' State Insurance Act, 1948. The term " employee " was defined in section 2(9) of the said Act to mean " any person employed for wages in or in connection with the work of a factory or establishment to which the Act applies ". The term " employer " had not been defined in the Act. The Supreme Court observed that in common parlance, the concept of employee would take within it the correlation of the employer, and pointed out that the position of partner qua the firm is not that of a master and servant or....
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.... is never referred to as a "worker". Merely because a person can work without wages, it does not mean that every person who works will become a worker for the purpose of a statutory provision because whether a person is a worker within the meaning of the statutory provision will have to be ascertained with reference to the phraseology used in that provision. It is true that section 80J(4)(iv) uses the phraseology it the undertaking employs ten or more workers in a manufacturing process carried on with the aid of power ". However, the " undertaking " contemplated by section 80J(4)(iv) is neither a unit of assessment nor has it been given jural status. Strictly, therefore, when the clause refers to " undertaking employs ten or more workers ",....