JUDGMENT
A.S. Venkatachalamorthy, J.
1. The tax case appeals have been filed against the common order passed by the Income-tax Appellate Tribunal in I. T. A. Nos. 1189 and 1190 of 1992, pertaining to the assessment years 1987-88 and 1988-89.
2. The appellant, viz., the Madurantakam Co-operative Sugar Mills Limited, Padalam, is engaged in the business of manufacture of sugar. While computing the total income for the assessment years 1987-88 and 1988-89, the Assessing Officer allowed the assessee’s claim for setting off the relief under Section 80J, brought forward from the assessment years 1979-80 to 1984-85. For the assessment year 1987-88, the assessment order was passed under Section 143(3) of the Income-tax Act, 1961 on February 28, 1990, and for the assessment year 1988-89 on October 24, 1990. The Commissioner of Income-tax, who examined the matter, noticed that the initial assessment year for which the assessee had become entitled to the deduction under Section 80J was the assessment year 1978-79 and so as per the provisions of Sub-section (2) of Section 80J, the assessee being a cooperative society could carry forward and set off the deduction under Section 80J against the income up to the assessment year 1984-85 only. The Commissioner also took the view that the deduction allowed under Section 80P(2)(a)(i) and under Section 80P(2)(a)(iii) was not in order as the assessee was a co-operative society engaged in the manufacture of sugar and not one engaged in the business of banking or providing credit facilities for its members. As the Commissioner of Income-tax felt that the assessments for both the years required to be revised, he issued a notice under Section 263 of the Income-tax Act to the assessee.
3. By a common order, the Commissioner directed the Assessing Officer to revise and modify the assessments by withdrawing the deduction allowed under Section 80J so also to revise and modify the assessments by disallowing the deductions under Section 80P(2)(a). Being aggrieved by the said order, the assessee filed I. T. A. Nos. 1189 and 1190 of 1992 before the Income-tax Appellate Tribunal, “B” Bench, Madras. The Appellate Tribunal, after elaborately considering the matter, upheld the order of the Commissioner only in regard to the deduction allowable under Section 80J. The assessee, being aggrieved by the said common order passed in those two appeals, has preferred these two tax case appeals.
4. A reading of Section 80J(2) of the Income-tax Act would show that the deduction specified in Sub-section (1) shall be allowed in computing the total income in respect of the assessment year relevant to the previous year in which the industrial undertaking begins to manufacture or produce articles and each of the four assessment years immediately succeeding the initial assessment year. In the case of the assessee, the initial assessment year was 1978-79. The assessee being a co-operative society, the provisions of the Sub-section (2) will have effect as if for the words “four assessment years”, the words “six assessment years” had been substituted. If the six year period is reckoned from the assessment year 1978-79, it would expire with the assessment year 1984-85. Rightly the Tribunal rejected the plea of the assessee that six year period will have to be considered from the assessment year 1984-85 and not from the initial assessment year 1978-79. In fact, the proviso after Sub-section (3) clarifies the position beyond any doubt. The order of the Tribunal is perfectly right and does not call for any interference.
5. In the result, the appeals are dismissed.