V.K. Singhal, J. - (1.) THE Income-tax Appellate Tribunal, Jaipur Bench, Jaipur, has referred the following question of law for the decision of this court : "Whether, on the facts and in the circumstances of the case, the Tribunal was justified in holding that the depreciation on printing rolls is allowable at 30 per cent. ?" THE facts of the case are that the assessee claimed depreciation on printing rolls at the rate of 30 per cent., which was allowed by the Income-tax Officer at the rate of ten per cent. It was contended by the assessee that copper rolls are covered by the definition of the words "patterns", "templates" and "dies" as mentioned in entry D-10 of Part I of Appendix I to the Income-tax Rules, 1962. THE Income-tax Appellate Tribunal has held that the depreciation at the rate of 30 per cent. is to be allowed on the printing rolls. This view has been taken on the basis of the decision of the Income-tax Appellate Tribunal, Gauhati Bench, Camp at Jaipur, in the case of Chaturbhuj Bhanwarlal v. ITO, wherein, it was observed that, on the copper rolls various designs or patterns are engraved and, therefore, the copper rolls form the base for engraving of various designs which are made or moulded. It was further observed that the designs or patterns which are engraved in the said copper rolls are only temporary in nature and are wiped out and a fresh design or pattern is again engraved thereon. THE said Bench held that the copper rolls are not machinery or parts of machinery but are raw materials purchased for making different blocks on which designs or patterns are engraved. In the process of wiping out the designs, loss of copper of about one kg. on each occasion happens and the same is claimed separately and allowed. THE Tribunal held that the copper rolls after engraving can be compared with the term "patterns, dies and templates" which are entitled for a higher rate of depreciation. THEre is another decision of the Income-tax Appellate Tribunal, Cuttack Bench, Camp at Jodhpur, in the case of Gadia Textile Industries v. ITO, A-Ward, Pali, wherein it was held that the engraving of a particular design is not a pattern, but the model on the basis of which such engraving has been done is pattern and it was considered to be a blue print of the design which is engraved on the rolls. It was further observed that the assessee is claiming the entire cost of engraving as a revenue expenditure which is allowed and, therefore, the depreciation on the rolls on which engraving is done will be admissible at the rate of ten per cent.
(2.) THE words "patterns", "dies" and "templates" have not been defined under the Income-tax Act, 1961, or the Rules made thereunder. THE definition of patterns, dies and templates, according to various dictionaries, is given below : "Pattern: A reliable sample of traits, acts or other observable features characterising an individual (Black's Law Dictionary, fifth edition). An orderly sequence consisting of a number of repeated or complementary elements, decorative motifs, etc./a style of design or applied decoration/a model from which a copy can be made/a sample of cloth, paper, etc., showing the design or colour, take some from the seam as a pattern/a model to be followed as an example of excellence/the model from which the mould is made for casting metal/the way in which the shot or bullets are distributed on a target. 2. to make or form in imitation of another person or thing, a pattern yourself on him/to decorate with a pattern. (THE New Lexicon Webster's Dictionary : Vol. 2 : Encyclopaedic edition) Dies : an engraved stamp for impressing a design or figure upon some softer material, as in coining money, striking a medal or embossing paper. (Legal Glossary--1988, page 99) Template : A pattern, usually of thin sheet metal or wood, used when cutting, shaping, etc./a block of wood or metal inserted in a wall to distribute vertical pressures/(genetics) a macro-molecule (DNA or RNA) on which an enzyme creates a complementary strand. (THE New Lexicon Webster's Dictionary : Vol. 2 : Encyclopaedic edition). From the above definitions, it would be evident that printing rolls cannot fall under either of the three items mentioned above. So far as the question of paying any charge for engraving on the said roll is concerned, that is being fully claimed and allowed and it is only the cost of the printing roll on which it has to be considered as to whether it falls under either of the three items mentioned above. THE printing rolls cannot be considered as patterns as they are only in the roll form on which some engraving is done later on. THE definition of dies makes it clear that they are used for embossing or engraving on a metal. In the present case, the rolls are not used for embossing or engraving, but the work of engraving is done thereon and, therefore, they cannot be considered to be dies. Similarly, according to the definition of templates, the copper rolls cannot be considered to be patterns by themselves. THE copper rolls were, therefore, rightly held by the Income-tax Officer as not falling under the above entry and entitled for depreciation at ten per cent. Reference is, accordingly, answered in favour of the Revenue and against the assessee and it is held that, on the proper interpretation of entry D-10 of Appendix I, Part I(III) of the Income-tax Rules, the depreciation on printing rolls is not allowable at 30 per cent. and is allowable at ten per cent. only. No order as to costs.;