Commissioner of Income Tax vs Aqueous Victuals P. Ltd.

Heard learned counsel for the Department and Sri Navin Sinha for the respondent.

This is an application u/s 256(2) of the Income Tax Act, 1961, in which the following question is sought to be referred to us for our opinion :

"Whether the wooden shells and crates/bottles are plant rather than a part of stock-in-trade of packing materials ?"

The assessee is in the business of bottling of soft drinks and for this purpose it uses wooden shells and crates/bottles on which it claims depreciation. The stand of the assessee was that the above items are plant within the meaning of section 43(3) of the Income Tax Act. A similar question came up before the Andhra Pradesh High Court in Commissioner of Income Tax Vs. Sri Krishna Bottlers Pvt. Ltd., . The Andhra Pradesh High Court decided the question in favour of the assessee. Against that decision a S. L. P. was filed before the Supreme Court and the said Standard Mills Co. Ltd. Vs. Commissioner of Income Tax, .

Learned counsel for the Department submitted that the decision in an S. L. P. is not a precedent unless reasons are given by the Supreme Court. Be that as it may, we on the merits agree with the decision of the Andhra Pradesh High Court in Commissioner of Income Tax Vs. Sri Krishna Bottlers Pvt. Ltd.,

We have carefully perused the aforesaid decision and we are in agreement on the merits with the reasoning and opinion of the Andhra Pradesh High Court. Thus, we are not inclined to call for any question of law as we are satisfied on the merits that the Tribunal''s decision is correct. The application is rejected.