COMMISSIONER OF INCOME TAX Vs. KRISHNA BOTTLERS PVT LIMITED

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THIS is a reference at the instance of the CIT and the reference reads as follows :

(2.) THE assessee is a private limited company manufacturing soft drinks and selling the same at Hyderabad and other places. The first assessment of the company was made for the asst. yr. 1967 68. From the asst. year 1967 68 up to and inclusive of the asst. year 1975 76, the assessee company was claiming breakages in bottles in the respective years as a deduction. For the asst. yr. 1976 77 (year ending 30th June, 1975), the assessee company has claimed deduction under the first proviso to S. 32(1)(ii) of the Act in respect of the bottles and shells purchased and put to use during the year.

(3.) THE meaning of the word "plant" in the context of S. 32(1)(ii) of the IT Act, 1961, has come up for consideration in the Courts over a long period of years. The provision of S. 43(3) defines "plant" as including ships, vehicles, books, scientific apparatus and surgical equipment used for the purposes of the business or profession. In CIT vs. Taj Mahal Hotel (supra), the Supreme Court stated that : "where the definition of a word has not been given, it must be construed in its popular sense if it is a word of every day use. Popular sense means 'that sense which people conversant with the subject matter with which the statute is dealing, would attribute to it'." Their Lordships pointed out that the very fact that even books had been included in the definition of "plant" showed that the said word should be given a "wide" meaning. But as pointed out recently by Lord Wilberforce in IRC vs. Scottish and Newcastle Breweries Ltd. (1982) 2 All ER 230 :