BHUVANENDRAN K Vs. COMMISSIONER OF AGRICULTURAL INCOME TAX

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This is a Reference by the Kerala. Agricultural Income Tax Appellate Tribunal pertaining to the assessment of six individuals for the year 1967-68 under the Agricultural Income Tax Act, 1950. The question referred is:

(2.) By the assessment orders against the six individuals who were at one time members of a joint Hindu undivided family which had become partitioned the accounts of the assessees were rejected and a best judgment assessment was made on the basis of an estimated income per acre in the cardamom estate consisting of 70 acres and the value of the cardamom per kilogram had also been estimated. The assessees appealed before the Appellate Assistant Commissioner and one of the points raised before the Appellant Assistant Commissioner was that the Agricultural Income Tax Officer erred in applying a uniform rate of 75 Kgs. of cardamom per acre in relation to the entire estate. It was elaborated that the cardamom in 16 out of the 70 acres had only started bearing in the year previous to the accounting period pertaining to the assessment year 1967-68 and that the yield from those 16 acres was very much below 75 Kgs. per acre. Apart from this the fixation of yield at 75 Kgs. per acres for the rest of the estate was also challenged. Both these contentions were accepted by the Appellate Assistant Commissioner. There was a department appeal before the Tribunal and the grounds taken are three extracted in the statement of the case at page 22 of the paper book which we may reproduce.

(3.) The Tribunal, admittedly in the absence of a specific ground in the memorandum of appeal, purported to deal with the question as to what should be the yield from the 16 acres consisting of young plants and stated thus: