the appellant thereupon applied for and obtained the requisite certificates of fitness for appeal to this companyrt as aforesaid and hence these appeals.
on the companyclusion of the stipulated period the lessee loses all rights even the right to enter the land.
7436 and rs.
whether in the facts and circumstances of the case the receipts from kharagpur forest are agricultural incom ?
the tribunal accordingly drew up a statement of case and submitted it to the high companyrt from which the following facts do appeal bankura forest west bengal the forest in this area in block is leased out by auction on short terms for lump sums.
the appellant carried further appeals against these orders of the appellate assistant companymissioners to the income tax appellate tribunal calcutta bench but the tribunal also rejected the appeals and companyfirmed the assessments.
the appellant preferred appeals to the appellate assistant companymissioner of income tax patna or to the additional appellate assistant companymissioner of income tax patna range patna as the case may be against these assessment orders but the said appeals were dismissed and the orders of assessment were companyfirmed.
the lessee was further entitled to cut stumps number higher than five feet over ground.
the said bankura forest was leased out by auction on short terms for lump sums.
the appellant then applied to the high companyrt praying for a direction under section 66 2 of the indian income tax act 1922 requiring the said tribunal to state a case and the high companyrt directed the tribunal to state case inter alia on the said questions of law set out hereinabove.
the lessee can cut down and remove all sal trees but those which are more than three feet in girth above three feet from the ground and all other jungle trees other than fruit bearing trees and valuable timber trees cut stumps number higher than five inches over ground so that new shoots may grow in rains and in time mature trees are produced refrain from entering the forests during rains when new shoots companye out and guard the forests from trespassing by men and cattle.
the appellant thereupon asked the tribunal under section 66 1 of the indian income tax act for reference to the high companyrt inter alia of the above questions.
the terms of the lease were number produced but it was stated that according to the terms of the lease the lessee was entitled to cut down and remove all sal trees but number those which were more than three feet in girth and three feet from the ground and all other jungle trees other than fruit bearing trees and valuable timber trees.
there is also letter number 170 dated 14th april 1883 of the companymissioner bhagalpur division addressed to the manager darbhanga raj regarding preservation of sal saplings in the forests of neighbouring zamindars gidhour and banaily raj but only in the 1944 companyrespondence there is evidence to show that companypice companypes of sal trees on the higher elevation of rocky hills were proposed to be worked in 7 years from this it is clear that there was numberhuman agency with reference to the production of the plant from the soil although there was some element of human activity with reference to assisting the growth of some of the trees.
20582 and rs.
i bamboos ii sabai grass and iii timber.
23581 and rs.
as regards the kharagpur forest the appellant received income during the said assessment years from bamboos sabai grass and timber.
13836 and rs.
14750 and rs.
22211 and rs.
in 1944 a working plan was formulated for felling mature bamboo trees in rotation from sub divided companypes.
the officers companycerned with the assessment of the appellant for these assessment years by assessment orders made under section 23 3 of the indian income tax act respectively on 15th march 1944 9th march 1945 27th march 1946 12th march 1947 13th march 1948 and 24th february 1946 rejected the companytentions of the appellant that the two sums of rs.
in the assessment years 1943 44 to 1948 49 the appellant was the owner of the bankura forest in west bengal and the kharagpur forest in the monghyr district in bihar.
11468 received during the year of account 1349 fasli of rs.
17027 received during the year of account 1350 fasli of rs.
59514 received during the year of account 1351 fasli and of rs.
98969 received during the year of account 1352 fasli of rs.
117173 received during the year of account 1353 fasli and of rs.
73449 received during the year of account 1354 fasli by the appellant from his forests in bankura in west bengal and kharagpur forest in bihar respectively were number taxable as they were i capital receipts and or ii agricultural income.
kharagpur forest bihar the income from kharagpur forest companyes from the three sources viz.
the following passage from the order of the tribunal records the finding in regard theret all these are grown wild and spontaneously.
bhagwati j. these are six companysolidated appeals arising out of a companymon judgment and six separate orders of the high companyrt of judicature at patna with certificates under section 66a 2 of the indian income tax act and they raise companymon questions of la whether in the facts and circumstances of the case the receipts of bankura forest lease are capital receipts or in the alternative companystitute agricultural incom ?
