TMI Blog1970 (9) TMI 31X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... loss - company claimed deduction of the said sum u/s 10(2)(viii) of the Indian Income-tax Act, 1922 – it could not be said that the animals had become useless on the closure of the assessee's business before the assessee was entitled to deduction of loss - - - - - Dated:- 28-9-1970 - Judge(s) : ARUN K. MUKHERJEE., SABYASACHI MUKHERJEE. JUDGMENT ARUN K. MUKHERJEA J.- This reference arises out of the following facts and circumstances. The assessee is a company manufacturing, among other things, medicines. Before May, 1959, the assessee used also to manufacture serum. The assessee appears to have suffered loss of income from the production of serum for a considerable number of years as a result of which the assessee finally decided to ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... May, 1959. The sale of the animals and the resulting loss of Rs. 9,929 are also admitted. There is absolutely no suggestion of any oblique or any dishonest motive on the part of the assessee. The only question is whether the loss suffered is an admissible deduction in terms of section 10(2)(viii) of the said Act. The point is one which is not covered by any decision. Our attention was drawn to the case of In re Ganeshilal Bhattawala in which the Allahabad High Court was called upon to consider whether if a dairy business of an assessee was closed down in 1930 and the live-stock left over were sold in 1932 at a loss of Rs. 414, the assessee can claim an allowance in respect of the loss in the assessment of his income from a brick-kiln and p ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... true that the animals had become permanently useless for the purposes of the assessee's business since that part of the business which related to the manufacture and sale of serum had been discontinued. The Income-tax Officer and the Tribunal found difficulty in applying section 10(2)(viii) because, in their opinion, the animals had become useless by reason of closure of the business for which they were employed and this, according to them, was not covered by the expression " permanently useless ". In our opinion, this is not a correct view to take on those facts. There has been no closure of the business of the assessee. It is not as if manufacture and sale of serum was a separate business. The accounts of the assessee, so far as they app ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... they proceeded on the basis that the assessee had one business. And, further, there is no question here of setting off all the losses of business that has ceased to exist against income of an altogether different business. Therefore, the Madras case is of no help to us. It is obvious that difficulty arises in this case if the expression " have died or become permanently useless " is sought to be construed by the application of what is known as the ejusdem generis rule. According to that rule a general word which follows particular and specific words of the same nature as itself takes its meaning from them and is presumed to be restricted to the same genus as those words. (Maxwell's Interpretation of Statutes, 9th edition, page 337). In t ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... n in the Sunday Observance Act, 1677, which provides that " no tradesman, artificer, workman, labourer, or other person whatsoever, shall do or exercise any labour, business, or work of their ordinary calling upon the Lord's Day ". This enactment has been interpreted so as to exclude a farmer or a solicitor from the word " person " on the ground that the word " person " is confined to followers of callings like those specified by the preceding words. If instead of four preceding words there had been only one word " labourer ", it is doubtful whether it would have been possible to interpret " person " as partaking of the character of " labourer ", for the word " labourer " by itself would not have indicated any genus. As a matter of ordinary ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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