K.L.Roy, J. - (1.) By this Reference under Section 66 (1) of the Indian Income-tax Act, 1922, the Income-tax Appellate Tribunal has referred the following two questions to this Court, namely:-- "I. Whether on the facts and in the circumstances of the case, the Tribunal was right in holding that extra shift depreciation allowance in the case of the assessee company must also be calculated with reference to the actual number of days on which the extra shifts had Worked during the previous years to the assessment years 1958-59 and 1959-602
(2.) Whether on the facts and in the circumstances of the case, the Tribunal was right in holding that the contribution of Rs. 19,220/- made by the assessee company towards road development was a capital expenditure and as such not admissible as an expenditure in computing its business income for the assessment year 1959-60?" 2. The assessee is a company deriving income from certain sugar Mills in the Uttar Pradesh. The assessment years involved are 1958-59 and 1959-60, the corresponding previous years being the years ending on the 31st October, 1957 and the 31st October 1958 respectively. For both these years the assessee company claimed extra shift depreciation allowance equal to the normal depreciation in respect of the machinery and plant utilised in the sugar manufacturing business. There is no dispute that the assessee's factories are seasonal factories which worked only during that part of the year when sugar cane is available. The Income-tax Officer disallowed Rs. 12,259 in the first year and Rs. 15,898 in the second year out of this claim for extra shift allowance. The disallowance was upheld in appeal by the Appellate Assistant Commissioner and also on further appeal by the Tribunal.
(3.) For the assessment year 1959-60, the assessee claimed deduction of a sum of Rs. 19,220, being the amount contributed by the assessee company to a Cooperative Society for the purpose of development of the roads giving access to the factories of the assessee company as well as other sugar mills of the locality. The Tribunal has stated that as a result of a conference of the representatives of the State Government, the cane growers and the sugar factory owners held at Nainital sometime in June 1954, a cooperative Society was formed for the purpose of taking up development of roads in the area. These roads were constructed by the Co-operative Society partly on land owned by the assessee company but were meant for common use by the cane growers as well as for transport purposes of the factory owners.;