2011 (5) TMI 657 - AT - Income Tax

Section 115JA - computation of book profit - no dispute with regard to the method of computation. The dispute is with regard to the determination of amount to be deducted - Assessing Officer adjusted the profits earned against the business loss. While doing so, he also ignored losses of the years which are more than 8 years old.In this process he arrived at the unabsorbed business loss at NIL figure and the unabsorbed depreciation at Rs. 34,79,749/-. Accordingly he did not allow any deduction since lower of the two was NIL - specifically provided in section 115JA that the loss shall not include depreciation, it becomes necessary to bifurcate the brought forward loss as per books of account into Unabsorbed business loss and Unabsorbed depreciation - Held that it would not be correct on the part of the Assessing Officer to apply the principles prescribed in sec. 70 - 79 of the Act for accumulated losses shown in the books of account - provisions of sec 115JA are a complete code by itself Interest u/s 220(2) - AO levied interest under this section - set aside the matter - Assessing Officer with a direction to examine the claim - Held in the favour of appellant.

Summary

Issues:
Computation of book profit under section 115JA of the Act, deduction under clause (iii) of Explanation to sec. 115JA, interest charged under section 220(2) of the Act.

Computation of Book Profit:
The appeal concerned the computation of book profit under section 115JA of the Act for the assessment year 2000-01. The dispute revolved around the deduction to be allowed under clause (iii) of the Explanation to sec. 115JA. The assessee, a private limited company, had accumulated losses and profits over several years. The disagreement arose regarding the method of adjusting profits against losses for determining the amount to be deducted under clause (iii). The Assessing Officer and the CIT(A) had differing opinions on the matter, leading to an appeal before the ITAT. The ITAT highlighted the need to bifurcate losses into "Unabsorbed business loss" and "Unabsorbed depreciation" as per the Act's provisions.

Interpretation of Clause (iii) of Explanation to Sec. 115JA:
The ITAT emphasized the distinction between accounting principles and income tax provisions concerning the treatment of losses. While accounting principles allow carrying forward losses for an indefinite period and against any income, income tax laws impose restrictions on the set-off period and the type of income against which losses can be adjusted. The ITAT clarified that the provisions of sec. 115JA serve as a complete code, subject to sub section (4), which mandates adherence to other provisions of the Income tax Act. In the absence of a specific method for segregating losses under clause (iii), the ITAT directed the Assessing Officer to determine the eligible deduction after reviewing the method employed by the assessee.

Charging of Interest under Section 220(2):
Regarding the interest charged under section 220(2) of the Act, the ITAT noted that the CIT(A) had already instructed the Assessing Officer to examine the claim made by the assessee. Consequently, the ITAT refrained from intervening in the CIT(A)'s decision on this issue. Ultimately, the appeal of the assessee was treated as allowed for statistical purposes, indicating a favorable outcome for the assessee in the context of the issues raised.

This detailed analysis of the judgment from the Appellate Tribunal ITAT, Visakhapatnam, provides a comprehensive overview of the legal issues involved, the arguments presented, and the final decision rendered by the tribunal.