Gokul Rubber and Tea Plantations Ltd. vs Commissioner of Income Tax

K.S. Paripoornan, J.—The petitioner is a company. For the assessment year 1978-79, it was assessed on an amount of Rs. 23,600 under the head "Capital gains" on the sale of rubber trees cut and sold by it. The plea of the assessee that the rubber trees are agricultural assets and cannot be considered as capital asset was negatived. The appeal filed before the Commissioner of Income Tax (Appeals) and the second appeal filed before the Appellate Tribunal were futile. Thereafter, the petitioner/assessee filed an application u/s 256(1) of the Income Tax Act praying that the Appellate Tribunal may be pleased to refer the three questions of law formulated in para 4 of the original petition for the decision of this court. It was rejected. Thereafter, this petition u/s 256(2) of the Act was filed in this court.

We heard counsel for the petitioner as also counsel for the Revenue. The old and unyielding rubber trees will certainly be a capital asset and for sale thereof, tax on capital gains can be levied thereon, cannot admit of any doubt in view of the decisions in Commissioner of Agricultural Income Tax, Kerala Vs. Kailas Rubber and Co. Ltd., , Beverley Estates Ltd. Vs. Commissioner of Income Tax, and Travancore Tea Estates Co. Ltd. Vs. Commissioner of Income Tax, , By relying on the said decisions, the Appellate Tribunal held that the amounts received on the sale of rubber trees, cut and sold by the assessee/petitioner is liable to tax as capital gains. The decision of the Appellate Tribunal is justified in law. The matter is settled by a series of decisions of this court. In the circumstances, we are of the view that no referable question of law arises out of the order of the Appellate Tribunal.

There is no merit in this original petition. It is dismissed.