Burma v. Kokine Dairy, Rangoon

The case of an orchard is quite different.
Orchard trees ordinarily are, and can be presumed to

have been, planted by men after preparation of the ground which is cultivation and seasonal
crops are gathered. Fruit trees also require seasonal attention such as pruning and digging of
the soil around the roots and it cannot be said that this ceases to be cultivation merely because
the whole tree is not replanted every year .... In my opinion the land in suit is agricultural
land; it is land from which by preparing the soil and planting and cultivating trees the raiyat
expects to enjoy periodical returns in the way of produce for food. (44) A still further
extension of the term is to be found in the following observations of Vishwanatha Sastri J., in
1950-18 ITR 259, 271), at p. 273 : It is a matter of ordinary experience, at least in this part of
the country, that mango, cocoanut, palmyra, orange, jack, arecanut, tamarind and other trees
are planted usually in an enclosed land, and that these trees do not yield any fruit or crop in
the early years of their growth. They remain on the land for a long number of years yielding
fruit only after their maturity. There is no reason why the planting, rearing, watering, fencing
and protection of such trees and the gathering of their fruits during the annual seasons should
not be held to be ―agriculture.‖ There is some kind of cultivation or prodding of the soil at
the inception when the planting is done and subsequently also at intervals. In the case of
coffee grown on hill slopes, there is no ploughing or tillage as in the case of wet and dry
fields; but it cannot be maintained that growing coffee is not an agricultural operation. Coffee
and tea plants stand on the soil for many years, and their produce is gathered periodically.
(45) It is interesting to note that all throughout these cases runs the central idea of either
tillage of the land or sowing of seeds or planting or similar work on the land which invests
the operation with the characteristic of agricultural operations and whenever that Central idea
is fulfilled there is the user of land for agricultural purposes and the income derived
therefrom becomes agricultural income. (46) There were, on the other hand, decisions which
interpreted the term ―agriculture‖ in the wider sense as including all activities in relation to
the land, even though they did not comprise these basic agricultural operations.
(51) In Commissioner of Income-tax, Burma v. Kokine Dairy, Rangoon [1938-6 ITR 502,
509], the question was whether income from a dairy farm and the milk derived from the farm
is agricultural income and exempt as such from income-tax. Roberts C.J., who delivered the
opinion of the Court observed:
Vodafone International Holdings B.V. v. Union of India (UOI) and Anr
22
Where cattle are wholly stall-fed and not pastured upon the land at all, doubtless it is trade
and no agricultural operation is being carried on: where cattle are being exclusively or mainly
pastured and are nonetheless fed with small amounts of oil-cake or the like, it may well be
that the income derived from the sale of their milk is agricultural income. But between the
two extremes there must be a number of varying degrees, and the task of the Income-tax
Officer is to apply his mind to the two distinctions and to decide in any particular case on
which side of the fence, if I may use the term, the matter falls. (55) In Moolji Sicka & Co., In
re [1939-7 ITR 493 (Cal.)] Derbyshire C.J., understood the term ―agriculture‖ in a wider
sense as including operations not only on the land itself but on the shrubs which grew on the
soil and were according to him a part of the soil. The assessees were manufacturers of biri, a
kind of cigarette consisting of tobacco wrapped in tendu leaves. The tendu plant was of
entirely wild growth and propagated itself without human agency in jungle and waste lands.
The assessees had taken several villages on ―lease‖ for plucking the leaves of such plants
and the work done by the assessees consisted in pruning the trees and burning the dead
branches and dried leaves lying on the ground. The Court held that the profits accruing to the
assessees by the sale of tendu leaves was not exempt as agricultural income but to the extent
to which pruning of the tendu shrub occurred, there was in a technical and legal sense a
cultivation of the soil in which the shrub grew and therefore so much of the income as was
shown by the assessee to be profit derived from the collection and preparation, so as to take
them fit to be taken to the market, of tendu leaves produced by the pruning of the tendu
shrubs was exempt as agricultural income. (56) The word cultivation was here understood by
the learned Chief Justice not only in the sense of cultivation of the soil but in the sense of
cultivation of the tendu shrubs which grew on the soil and were therefore a part of it. The
operations which were performed on the shrubs were certainly not operations performed on
the soil itself and the opinion expressed by the learned Chief Justice has certainly given an
extended meaning to the term cultivation as used with reference to the soil. It is significant
however to observe that cultivation of the soil was considered an essential ingredient which
rendered the income derived from the tendu leaves agricultural income within the meaning of
its definition in S. 2(1)(a) of the Act. (57) 1950-18 ITR 259 at p. 271 contains a further
extension of this idea where Vishwanatha Sastri J., observed at p. 274:
Pasture land used for the feeding and rearing of livestock is land used for agricultural
purposes: ILR 25 Mad. 627 at pp. 629, 630. Rearing of livestock such as cows, buffaloes,
sheep and poultry is included in ―husbandry‖. These animals are considered to be the
products of the soil, just like crops, roots, flowers and trees, for they live on the land and
derive their sustenance from the soil and its produce: AIR 1938 Rang. 260 at p. 261)(FB). It
is therefore not legitimate in my opinion, to confine the word ―agriculture‖ to the cultivation
of an open field with annual or periodical crops like wheat, rice, ragi, cotton, tobacco, jute,
etc. Casuarina is usually

Burma v. Kokine Dairy, Rangoon

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Burma v. Kokine Dairy, Rangoon

Uploaded by

Document Information

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Burma v. Kokine Dairy, Rangoon

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

The case of an orchard is quite different.

Orchard trees ordinarily are, and can be presumed to

Vodafone International Holdings B.V. v. Union of India (UOI) and Anr

You might also like