2013 (9) TMI 753 - HC - Income Tax

Whether Adjustment made in the returned income on account of the claim under Section 80M was beyond the scope of the provisions of Section 143(1)(a) Held that - In order to claim deduction under Section 80M of the Act, the assessee should be a domestic company, which in the previous year should have earned any income by way of dividends from another domestic company, and which should not exceed the amount of dividend distributed by the first mentioned domestic company on or before the due date. In the present case, the assessee company did not get dividend from another domestic company. It got its share of profit from a firm in which it was partner. The firm was not a domestic company as defined in the Act. The assessee company therefore was not entitled to any deduction under Section 80M of the Act. This was permissible adjustment under Section 143 (1) (a) of the Act Decided in favor of Revenue.

Issues involved:
1. Interpretation of Section 80M of the Income Tax Act.
2. Validity of adjustment under Section 143(1)(a) of the Income Tax Act.
3. Applicability of deduction under Section 80M to the case at hand.

Detailed Analysis:
1. Interpretation of Section 80M of the Income Tax Act:
The case involved a detailed analysis of Section 80M of the Income Tax Act, which allowed for a deduction in respect of certain inter-corporate dividends. The section specified that a domestic company could claim a deduction equal to the amount of income by way of dividends from another domestic company, not exceeding the amount of dividend distributed by the first-mentioned domestic company. The definition of a "domestic company" was crucial, as it referred to an Indian Company or any other company that made prescribed arrangements for the declaration and payment of dividends within India. In this case, the assessee company did not receive dividends from another domestic company but received its share of profit from a partnership firm, which did not qualify as a domestic company under the Act.

2. Validity of adjustment under Section 143(1)(a) of the Income Tax Act:
The issue at hand was whether the adjustment made by the Assessing Officer under Section 143(1)(a) of the Income Tax Act, disallowing the deduction claimed under Section 80M, was legally correct. The Assessing Officer had allowed the deduction only in respect of the assessee's own dividend income and not the share income from the partnership firm. The Tribunal observed that the Assessing Officer did not have the power to make adjustments on the point of legal claims in the intimation sent under Section 143(1)(a). The Tribunal further highlighted that the circular of the C.B.D.T. did not authorize the type of adjustment carried out by the Assessing Officer. The contention of the department that the adjustment was permissible under Section 143(1)(a) was challenged, leading to a detailed examination of the legal provisions and precedents.

3. Applicability of deduction under Section 80M to the case at hand:
Given the specific provisions of Section 80M and the definition of a domestic company, it was determined that the assessee company was not entitled to the deduction claimed under Section 80M of the Act. The deduction was disallowed as the assessee did not receive dividends from another domestic company but received its share of profit from a partnership firm. Therefore, the adjustment made by the Assessing Officer was deemed permissible under Section 143(1)(a) of the Act. The judgment favored the revenue and went against the assessee, leading to the matter being referred back to the Tribunal for appropriate orders.

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