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TMI Blog1970 (9) TMI 31X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... a consequence of this stoppage certain animals which were kept by the assessee for the manufacture of serum became actually useless to it for its business. The assessee, therefore, sold away these animals. By reason of this sale the company suffered a loss amounting to Rs. 9,929. The company claimed deduction of the said sum of Rs. 9,929 under section 10(2)(viii) of the Indian Income-tax Act, 1922, for the assessment of its income for the assessment year 1960-61. The Income-tax Officer, however, disallowed this deduction. On appeal the Appellate Assistant Commissioner refused to interfere. On further appeal the Income-tax Appellate Tribunal confirmed this disallowance. The assessee-company then made an application under section 66(1) of th ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... t this allowance was not admissible inasmuch as the animals had been sold not on account of their having become permanently useless but because the entire business had been closed down and inasmuch as the words " for the purposes of the business " in the same clause referred to the business in respect of which a return has been called for and submitted. This decision is obviously one which can have no application to the facts of the case before us. The loss in question in the Allahabad case was not at all one in respect of the business for which return had been called for and submitted. The point that we have to decide in this reference is, therefore, one which is entirely of first impression. Section 10(2)(viii) of the Indian Income-tax A ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ness which was run by the assessee and that the assessee had one continuous account for the entire business. Therefore, it cannot be said that the animals had become useless on the ground of closure of the assessee's business. In this connection Mr. Dilip Sen, appearing for the Commissioner of Income-tax, drew our attention to the case of South Indian Industrials Ltd. v. Commissioner of Income-tax. In that case the assessee used to carry on several businesses one of which was closed down. The question arose whether the loss arising in respect of such businesses as were closed down could be set off against income accruing from the running business. A Full Bench of the Madras High Court held that the assessee was not entitled to set off the ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... by taking the word become permanently useless " as a general word and the word " died as a particular and specific word, then, the general word " permanently useless " has to be construed as a word belonging to the genus to which the particular word " died " belongs. It is upon this construction that a suggestion was made that the expression " permanently useless " must partake of the meaning of the word " died " to some extent. It was argued that they must at least belong to the same genus and, therefore, the cattle and the other animals which, in this particular case, have become useless for other reasons, will not be covered by the expression " become permanently useless ". In my opinion, this construction is based upon a completely wron ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... sion which is as much applicable to the first and other words as to the last, that expression is not limited to the last but applies to all. In Fletcher v. Lord Sondes [1826] 3 Bing. 501 Best C.J. said : " By 14 Geo. II, c. 1, persons who should steal sheep or any other cattle were deprived of the benefit of clergy, but until the legislature distinctly specified what cattle were meant to be included, the judges felt that they could not apply the statute to any other cattle but sheep. " (See Craies on Statute Law). In fact, one specific word followed by a more general word never permits the use of ejusdem generis rule. I know of no case where such an application has been made. It is only where a general word or words follow several particula ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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