judgment

J.M. Panchal, J. —

1.These appeals are directed against Judgments dated July 23, 2001 rendered by the Division Bench of the High Court of Judicature at Bombay in Income Tax Appeal No. 591/2001 and 592/2002 whereby the opinion expressed by the Assessing Officer and confirmed by Commissioner of Income Tax (Appeals) Mumbai as well as the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal Mumbai Bench ‘B’, Mumbai that the gross total income must be determined by setting off against the income, the business losses of the earlier years, before allowing deduction under Chapter VI-A and if the resultant income is ‘’Nil’’, then the assessee cannot claim deduction under Chapter VI-A of the Income Tax Act, 1948 (‘The Act’ for short), is upheld.

2.Since all the appeals raise common questions of law and fact, this Court proposes to dispose them of by this common Judgment.

3.The facts emerging from the record of the case are as under : –

The appellant-assessee is a Company incorporated under the provisions of the Indian Companies Act, 1956. It is engaged in the business of oil and chemicals. It has a unit for oil division at Sirohi District, Rajasthan. It has also a chemical division at Jodhpur. The appellant ha