N.R.AYYANGAR, J.

(1) THESE three sets of appeals raise a common point relating to the validity of the imposition of a cess under ss. 5 & 6 of the Bengal Cess Act, 1880 (Bengal Act IX of 1880, as amended in Bihar), hereinafter referred to as the Act. These provisions whose interpretation is the only point for consideration in these appeals run in these terms: `5. All immovable property to be liable to local cess. From and after the commencement of this Act in any district or part of a district, all immovable property situate therein, except as otherwise in section 2(2) provided, shall be liable to the payment of local cess. 6. Cess how to be assessed.-The local cess shall be assessed on the annual value of land s and until provision to the contrary is made by the central Legislature on the. annual net profits from mines and quarries, other than notified mines and from tramways, railways and other immovable property, ascertained respectively as in this Act prescribed; and the rate at which the local cess shall be levied for each year shall(a) in the case of such annual net profits, be one anna on each rupee of such profits; and (b) in the case of the annual value of lands, be such rate as shall be determined for such year in the manner-in this Act prescribed Provided that the rate at which the local cess shall be levied for any one year on the annual value of lands shall not be less than the. rate of one anna and six pies or more than the rate of two annas on each rupee of such annual value. `

(2) THE three companies who are the appellants here own certain mines in Bihar. The Tata Iron & Steel Co., Ltd.-appellants in Civil Appeals 587 & 588 of 1961 has taken on lease certain iron-ore mines at Noamundi in the Singhbhum district from where it extracts iron-ore which it utilises in its factory at Jamshedpur for making iron & steel. Similarly, the Indian Iron & Steel Co., Ltd., which is the appellant in Civil Appeals Nos. 590 & 591 of 1961 holds mining concessions for iron and manganese ore at Gua and Monoharpur in the district of Singhbhum and the ore extracted by it is utilised for the manufacture of iron & steel and steel products at the companys factories at Burnpur and Kulti in the district of Burdwan. In the same manner., the Indian Copper Corporation Ltd., which is the appellant in Civil Appeals Nos. 600-601 of 1961, has taken on lease certain mines in the district of Singhbhum and the ore mined by it is manufactured into copper and copper products at its factory at Moubhandar in the same district. The question raised for decision is whether the three appellants could be said to have derived `annual net profits from the mines` when the ore mined by them is not sold as such but is utilised for the production of finished products which the appellants sell.

(3) IN view of the nature of the question raised it would not be necessary to set out in detail the facts of each one of the cases and we will content ourselves with narrating a few of the salient facts which preceded the proceedings culminating in the appeals now before us relating to the Tata Iron & Steel Co. Ltd.appellants in Civil Appeals 587 & 588 of 1961 to appreciate generally the antecedent history and the proceedings giving rise to the appeals. The Company was not assessed to the cess on the ore mined by it till 1926, when the company sold some quantity of iron ore extracted by it to the Bengal lion and Steel Co. Ltd. and an assessment to cess under the Act was made against it in respect of that year. Even though it made no sales of iron ore in later years but utilised the ore extracted in its own factory, the company was assessed to and paid the cess on an assumed profit of 12 as. per ton of iron ore mined by it upto 1939- 40 and from the next year onwards the profit was assumed to be a little higher Viz., at Re. 1 per ton. ThiS basis of taxation was varied in the year 1950-51 when it was raised to Rs. 1/4.00 per toil by reason of an agreement b