Om Prakash, J. - (1.) At the instance of the Revenue, the Income-tax Appellate Tribunal, has referred one question each in these references under Section 27(1) of the Wealth-tax Act, 1957, for the opinion of this court. All the assessees are Hindu undivided families and they are partners in the firms, namely, Chinthamani and Brothers and Kastoor Chand Munnalal, through their kartas. They claimed exemption in respect of the value of their interest in the assets, belonging to the said firms, on the ground that the assets formed part of an industrial undertaking within the meaning of Section 5(1)(xxxii) of the Wealth-tax Act, 1957.
(2.) Involving a common question, all these three references are consolidated and decided together by a common order.
(3.) The short question in these references is : Whether the assets belonging to the firms in which the assessees are partners, formed part of an "industrial undertaking" within the meaning of Section 5(1)(xxxii) of the Wealth-tax Act, 1957. The facts found by the Tribunal are : that the firms in which the assessees were partners were engaged in dyeing and printing white cotton cloth and preparing saris therefrom. The exemption claimed by the assessees was denied by the Wealth-tax Officer on the ground that the assessees had no interest in the assets forming part of an "industrial undertaking" within the meaning of Section 5(1)(xxxii) of the Wealth-tax Act. The Tribunal ultimately accepted the contention of the assessees.;