2015 (8) TMI 1443 - AT - Income Tax

Exemption from Union Taxation - Entitlement for registration u/s 12A - status of ADDA being constituted under section 11 of the West Bengal Town and Country (Planning & Development) Act 1979 could either be a Local Authority or a Government Department or Agency or it was not a corporate body - Held that - We find that the Assessing Officer has relied on the decision of the Hon ble Supreme Court in the case of Adityapur Industrial Area Development Authority vs.- Union of India 2006 (5) TMI 61 - SUPREME COURT wherein held that the assessee could not claim exemption from Union Taxation under Article 289(1) of the Constitution of India nor it was possible to hold that the income derived by the assessee was the income of the State Government Thus observing that the circumstances were similar in the present cases but he has not considered the above noted relevant statutory requirement s applicable in the case of assessee. We therefore set aside the order of ld. CIT(Appeals) for all the three years and restore the matter back to the file of Assessing Officer for de novo consideration of the entire issues - Decided in favour of assessee for statistical purposes.

Summary

Issues:
- Exclusion of the assessee from the meaning of 'Local Authority' under section 10(20A) of the Income Tax Act, 1961.
- Rejection of application for registration under section 12A of the Act.
- Claim of 'ADDA' being a Local Authority or a Government Department.
- Dismissal of appeals by the ld. Commissioner of Income Tax (Appeals).
- Consideration of statutory requirements for constitution of 'ADDA'.
- Restoration of the matter back to the file of Assessing Officer for fresh adjudication.

Analysis:
1. The Assessing Officer observed that the assessee, Asansol Durgapur Development Authority (ADDA), should be excluded from the definition of 'Local Authority' under section 10(20A) of the Income Tax Act, 1961, due to an amendment made by the Finance Act, 2002. The application for registration under section 12A was rejected as the activities and income sources were deemed related to trade, commerce, or business, making the assessee ineligible for registration.

2. The assessee claimed that 'ADDA' could be considered a Local Authority, a Government Department, or a non-corporate body, citing functions similar to those of a Local Authority and being a Department of the Government of West Bengal. However, the Assessing Officer, following a Supreme Court judgment, held that the assessee could not claim exemption from Union Taxation under Article 289(1) of the Constitution of India and that the income derived was not that of the State Government.

3. The ld. Commissioner of Income Tax (Appeals) dismissed the assessee's appeals, leading to the assessee appealing before the Tribunal. The Tribunal, upon review, found that the Assessing Officer did not consider the relevant statutory requirements applicable to the assessee's case and set aside the order of the ld. Commissioner of Income Tax (Appeals) for fresh adjudication by the Assessing Officer in light of the statutory provisions presented by the assessee.

4. The Tribunal allowed all the appeals filed by the assessee for statistical purposes, dismissing some appeals while allowing others. The matter was restored back to the Assessing Officer for a fresh consideration of the issues in accordance with the statutory requirements provided by the assessee. The decision was pronounced in the open court on 14th August 2015.