TMI Blog1978 (4) TMI 82X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... Officer disallowed the claim on the ground that the expenditure incurred on construction of these assets did not bring into existence assets eligible for allowance of depreciation. The assessee filed appeals. As the drains, culverts, roads, etc., were constructed outside the plinth of the bungalows and were spread over in a big area, the Appellate Assistant Commissioner did not accept the contention made on behalf of the assessee that these assets were integral parts of the bungalows. Since the word " building " has not been defined in the Act, the Appellate Assistant Commissioner, by following its ordinary meaning as stated in the Concise Oxford Dictionary, held that these drains, culverts, roads, etc., were " buildings " and directed th ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... to call drains, culverts and roads as ' buildings ' it would not pass off normally unnoticed and the persons hearing it would feel something strange about it ". In that view of the matter, the Tribunal held that these assets could not be treated as buildings and allowed the appeals and sustained the orders of the Income-tax Officer. Though the word " building " has not been defined in the Act, we do not approve the observations of the Tribunal quoted earlier. Further, the expression " common man " does not mean a stranger who does not know the facts and the circumstances of the case. Moreover, the ordinary meaning of a word is that meaning which is given in the ordinary English dictionaries and not in the scientific or technical dictionar ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... e before us, can be usefully used for the purposes for which they were built without the drains, roads culverts, etc., is also an important consideration. It is not that depreciation on every type of assets owned by an assessee is an allowable deduction under the Income-tax Acts. Section 32 of the Income-tax Act, 1961, allows depreciation only on buildings, machinery, plant or furniture owned by an assessee and used by him during the relevant year for the purposes of his business or profession. It is only when an asset owned by an assessee is held to be a " building " then and then only the question will arise whether such building has been used by him during the relevant accounting year for the purposes of his business or profession. T ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ndo-Burma Petroleum Co. Ltd.--Since reported in [1978] 112 ITR 755 (Cal) ) would be applicable or not to the facts and circumstances of the case as may be found by the Tribunal. As we are unable to answer the question for the aforesaid reasons and as submitted by the learned counsel for both the parties, we send back the matter to the Tribunal with the directions that, after giving a reasonable opportunity to both the parties of adducing evidence and counter-evidence and of being heard, it shall ascertain the primary facts and on the basis of such findings it shall then decide whether these assets are " buildings " or not and, if it is held by the Tribunal that these assets are " buildings ", whether they were used for the purposes of the ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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