Law:

Section:

Business expenditure-Rubber estate-Expenditure incurred on maintenance of immature rubber plants-No yield during year- Expenditure whether allowable.   When once a rubber plantation has been laid, that is to say, the land has been acquired and made fit for planting and the trees actually planted, the stage of capital expenditure ceases, and whatever is spent thereafter upon the maintenance of the trees, such as weeding, superintendence, etc., is in the nature of revenue expenditure notwithstanding that the trees have not started to yield and will not yield for as long as six years thereafter.   Vallambrosa Rubber Co. Ltd. v. Farmer (1910) 5 T C 529 ; Ouchterlony Valley Estates v. Government of Madras (1962) 44 I T R 770 (Mad.) and Travancore Rubber and Tea Co. Ltd. v. Commissioner of Agricultural Income-tax (1961) 41 I T R 751 (S C) fol.   Hughes v. Bank of New Zealand (1938) 6 I T R 636 (H L) ref.   STATEMENT OF CASE   By this application under section 66 (1) the assessee requires the Appellate Tribunal to refer certain question of law said to arise out of the Tribunal's order in I. T. A. No 1463 of 1955-56, dated November 22, 1955, to the High Court of Judicature at Madras. Inasmuch as, in our opinion, a question of law does arise out of the Tribunal's order, we accordingly state a case, agreed to by both the parties and refer it to the High Court.   2. The assessee is a Hindu undivided family, resident and ordinarily resident within the taxable territories. Inter alia it was carrying on a money-lending business under the vilasam M. M. at 1poh, in the Federated Malaya States in which it purchased a fruit garden, called Ambica Estates about 303 acres in extent, on May 12, 1938. This was planted with budded rubber in the year ended April 13, 1941. The following are the expenses incurred thereon from time to time thereafter;   Previous year ended Assessment year Amount (1) (2) (3) 13-4-1942 1942-43 7,532'99 13-4-1943 1943-44 2,64417 13-4-1944 1944-45 4,308.09 13-4-1945 1945-46 3,670.58 13-4-1946 1946-47 4,270.21     During the year ended April 13, 1947, the previous year for assessment year 1947-48, the…