1985 (10) TMI 13

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....tax ? 2. Whether, the finding of the Tribunal that the activity of the assessee of pulverising bentonite was an industry within the meaning of section 2(8)(c) of the Finance Act, 1974, and hence the assessee was an industrial company is correct in law and sustainable from the material on record ?" Short facts leading to this reference are as under The assessment year is 1974-75. The assessee is a company carrying on business in purchase and sale of copra, oil cake as well as bentonite. It also earned during the relevant accounting period pulverising charges of bentonite from Kutch Mineral of Mandvi. The company claimed before the Income-tax Officer that it was an industrial company. The Income-tax Officer came to the conclusion tha....

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....see-company could not be called as the activities of an industrial company. On behalf of the assessee, it was urged that the activity of the assessee in pulverising bentonite was of an industry which manufactured powder out of systematically treated raw lumps of mineral. It was also urged that looking to the process involved, it could be said that the assessee-company was an industrial company. Relying on two decisions in CIT v. Casino (Pvt.) Ltd. [1973] 91 ITR 289 (Ker) and CIT v. Ajay Printery Private Ltd. [1965] 58 ITR 811 (Guj), the Tribunal after considering the rival contentions came to the conclusion that the assessee-company was entitled to a lower rate of tax as industrial company. Hence, at the instance of the Revenue, the aforesa....

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....18 [1981] 47 STC 124 (SC), it has been observed by the Supreme Court as under : "It still remains to consider whether the ore blended in the course of loading through the mechanical ore handling plant can be said to undergo processing when it is blended. The answer to this question depends upon what is the true meaning and connotation of the word 'processing' in section 8(3)(b) and rule 13. This word has not been defined in the Act and it must therefore be interpreted according to its plain natural meaning. Webster's Dictionary gives the following meaning of the word 'process' ; 'to subject to some special process or treatment, to subject (especially raw material) to a process of manufacture, development or preparation for the market, et....