JUDGMENT

Syed Shah Mohammed Quadri, J.-In these five appeals the parties are common; the Revenue is the appellant and the assessee is the respondent. C.A. Nos. 2600-03 of 1994, which relate to the assessment years 1967-68 to 1970-71, arise from the judgment and order of the Division Bench of the High Court of Judicature at Bombay in Income-Tax-Reference No. 242 of 1976 dated December 12, 1988. Following that judgment the Division Bench disposed of Income Tax Reference No. 10 of 1987 which pertains to the assessment year 1974-75 on July 30, 1998 which is under challenge in Civil Appeal No. 3788 of 1999. The common substantial question of law, which arises in these appeals, is question No. 2 noted below.

2. Briefly stated, the facts giving rise to these appeals are as follows : The respondent-assessee is an Indian resident company. It is carrying on the business of exporting tea. In the aforementioned assessment years it claimed weighted deduction under Section 35-B of the Income-tax Act (for short the Act ) in respect of the expenditure of Rs.1,95,935/ incurred on export of tea from East Africa to the United Kingdom. The claim was disallowed by the Income-tax Officer on the ground th