TMI Blog1967 (11) TMI 23X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ed, Jammu Tawi, the assessee-company, under section 66(2) of the Indian Income-tax Act, 1922 (Act 11 of 1922), corresponding to section 256(2) of the Income-tax Act, 1961 (Act 43 of 1961), in regard to three assessment years 1950-51, 1951-52 and 1952-53. The assessee-company worked leases of three forests, Lidder forest in Kashmir Province, and Udil and Khallor forests in Jammu Province of Jammu and Kashmir State.The leases worked for four years and the assessee-company prepared a consolidated profit and loss account for the period between May 6, 1947, and April 30, 1951, the profits having been apportioned over the years proportionately. The total extraction of timber in the case of Lidder forest was 3,15,333 often and the assessee-compa ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... made to the assessee-company was rather excessive. The Appellate Assistant Commissioner, after considering the basis on which the assessee-company sought deduction in regard to the loss of timber, said in his order that " it shows that the appellant (assessee-company) suffered some abnormal loss. However, the quantity of loss suffered cannot correctly be ascertained either from the report of the forest department or from the accounts-books themselves. The disallowance of the abnormal shortage at 29,000 cft. is excessive. I would reduce it to 15,000 cft. meaning thereby that the price of 14,000 cft. should be added. At Rs. 6.68 P. the price of 14,000 cft. amounting to Rs. 93,520 is to be added in place of Rs. 1,93,720. In other words, a sum ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... y follows what the Income-tax Appellate Assistant Commissioner has said in his order, which order, itself is arbitrary and no material has been referred to by him for the reduction of the amount of timber lost to the assessee-company. In this respect the learned counsel relies on Lalchand Bhagat Ambica Ram v. Commissioner of Income-tax, in which their Lordships held that " the Income-tax Appellate Tribunal is a fact-finding Tribunal and, if it, arrives at its own conclusions of fact after due consideration of the evidence before it, the Supreme Court will not interfere. However, the finding of the court of fact should not be vitiated by reason of its having relied upon conjectures, surmises and suspicions not supported by any evidence on re ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ome-tax Officer and for that prima facie from his order no basis is available. In the circumstances, we consider that this is a fit case in which a mandamus should issue to the Income-tax Appellate Tribunal, New Delhi, to refer this question to this court : " Whether, on the facts and in the circumstances of the case, there was no material or evidence for the conclusion that the shortage claimed by the assessee-company is excessive or unwarranted and whether there was evidence to uphold the finding qua shortage arrived at by the Appellate Assistant Commissioner of Income-tax and confirmed by the Income-tax Appellate Tribunal ? " The Income-tax Appellate Tribunal will now draw up the case and refer this question to this court at as early ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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