Judgment :-

S.H. KAPADIA, J.

Heard learned counsel on both sides.

Leave granted.

Assessee(s) is a cooperative credit society. During the relevant assessment years in question, it had surplus funds which the assessee(s) invested in short-term deposits with the Banks and in Government securities. On such investments, interests accrued to the assessee(s). Assessee(s) provides credit facilities to its members and also markets the agricultural produce of its members. The substantial question of law which arises in this batch of civil appeals is - Whether such interest income would qualify for deduction as business income under Section 80P(2)(a)(i) of the Income Tax Act, 1961?

According to the impugned judgement, which affirms the decision of the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal [`Tribunal, for short], such interest income would fall under the Head "Income from other sources" under Section 56 and not under Section 28 of the Income Tax Act, 1961 [`Act, for short], and, consequently, the assessee- Society would not be entitled to deduction under Section 80P(2)(a)(i) of the Act.

The bunch of civil appeals filed by the assessee-Society concerns Assessment Years 1991-1992 to 1999-2000 [excluding