Judgment Nazir Ahmad, J. 1. A statement of the case has been submitted by the Income-tax Appellate Tribunal, Patna Bench "A", Patna (hereinafter referred to as "the Tribunal "), referring the following common question of law under Sec.256(2) of the Income-tax Act, 1961 (hereinafter referred to as "the Act"), for the opinion of this court as directed by this court, relating to the assessment years 1967-68 to 1969-70 : "Whether, on the facts and in the circumstances of the case, the Tribunal was correct in law in holding that the business of Rajmahal belongs to the assessee and in including the income from the said business in the total Income of the assessee in his individual status ? " 2. The facts may be briefly stated. The assessee in the status of an individual has a mining business in sand and china clay at Rajmahal in the name and style of " M/s. Standard Mercantile Co., Rajmahal ". The assessee has been showing this income in his individual hands as the income from his proprietary concern, whereas the Department in the past has held that this business belongs to the firm, namely, M/s. Standard Mercantile Co., Patna. The Income-tax Officer assessed this income in the hands of the assessee in the status of an individual as a protective measure in the interests of the Revenue. The orders of the Income-tax Officer for the assessment years 1967-68, 1968-69 and 1969-70 which are the assessment years involved in this case have been annexed and marked as annexures B, C and D forming part of the statement of the case. 3. The Appellate Assistant Commissioner held for all the three assessment years in question that the Rajmahal business belongs to the firm, M/s. Standard Mercantile Co., Patna, and the income from this source should be included in the assessment of the firm, M/s. Standard Mercantile Co., Patna, and share income of the assessee should be determined and the assessment of the individual should be modified accordingly. The appeal was disposed of by a consolidated order which has been annexed and marked as annexure E forming part of the statement of the case. 4. The appeal was disposed of by a consolidated order which has been annexed and marked as annexure E forming part of the statement of the case. 4. The Tribunal by a consolidated order dated April 18, 1975, held that it has already been held in earlier years that Rajmahal business was the proprietary business of the assessee and so the income from the said business was the individual income of the assessee. Accordingly, the assessments were to be made. 5. It appears that in the case of CIT V/s. Standard Mercantile Co. [1985] 153 ITR 105 (Pat), it was held in the assessment of the firm, M/s. Standard Mercantile Co., Patna, that the Tribunal was right in excluding the income from the Rajmahal business styled as Standard Mercantile Co., Rajmahal, from the total income of the assessee-firm styled as Standard Mercantile Co., Patna, as the said business belonged to Vasudeo Agarwal, the assessee before us, as a proprietary concern. In view of this finding of this court, it has to be held that the assessment of the assessee relating to Rajmahal business in the status of an individual in all the three assessment years in question was justified. 6. I, therefore, hold that the Tribunal was correct in law in holding that the business of Rajmahal belongs to the assessee and in including the income from the said business in the total income of the assessee in his individual status. The question is, therefore, answered in favour of the assessee and against the Revenue. However, in the peculiar circumstances of this case, the parties shall bear their own costs. 7. Let a copy of this judgment be transmitted to the Income-tax Appellate Tribunal in terms of Sec.260 of the Income-tax Act, 1961. Uday Sinha, J. 8 I agree.