2017 (9) TMI 191 - HC - Income Tax

Deduction u/s 80-IB - reconstruction of a business already in existence - fulfillment of the criteria of an industrial undertaking - Held that - There is transfer of plant and machinery of the unit Shri Ram Flour Mills of M/s. M.C. Roller Flour Mills Limited to the assessee company. The plant and machinery of the said unit was in use by the previous company. Therefore, the assessee company is not an industrial undertaking formed by the purchase of a new plant and machinery rather than by the transfer of previously used plant and machinery. Thus, transfer may not have amounted to splitting or reconstruction of business already in existence. Nonetheless, it amounts to constituting a new industrial undertaking by the transfer of used plant and machinery. The purpose behind the deduction u/s 80-IB of the Act is to promote setting up of a new industrial undertaking by purchasing new plant and machinery , but in present case of assessee setting up of an industrial unit by purchase of old/used plant and machinery defeat the entire purpose of allowing deductions u/s 80-IB of the Act The conclusion is therefore is assessee does not fulfil the conditions for claiming decduction u/s 80-IB - Decided in favour of revenue.

Summary

Issues:
Interpretation of Section 80-IB of the Income Tax Act, 1961 regarding deductions for industrial undertakings formed by transfer of machinery or plant previously used for any purpose.

Analysis:
The case involved an appeal under Section 260-A of the Income Tax Act, 1961 by M/s. Shri Ram Flour Mills India (Private) Limited against the order of the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal allowing the department's appeal for the assessment year 2001-02. The dispute revolved around the eligibility of the assessee to claim deductions under Section 80-IB of the Act for its industrial undertaking.

The assessee company had purchased a unit known as Shri Ram Flour Mills from another company, M/s. M.C. Roller Flour Mills Limited, along with its plant and machinery. Section 80-IB allows deductions subject to certain conditions, including that the industrial undertaking should not be formed by the transfer of machinery or plant previously used for any purpose. The Assessing Authority initially declined the deductions, but the Commissioner of Income Tax (Appeals) permitted them. The tribunal modified the decision and restored the Assessing Authority's order, leading to the appeal by the assessee.

The main issue in the appeal was whether the assessee, by purchasing the entire business unit along with its plant and machinery, qualified as an industrial undertaking not formed by the transfer of machinery previously used for any other purpose, as required by Section 80-IB. The assessee argued that since it took over the entire business unit without reconstruction, it should be eligible for the deductions. However, the revenue contended that the transfer of the business unit included the transfer of plant and machinery previously used by the unit, making the assessee ineligible for the deductions.

The court analyzed various precedents, including Commissioner of Income Tax Vs. Bullet International and Commissioner of Income Tax Vs. Sonata Software Limited, to interpret the conditions under Section 80-IB. It emphasized that the purpose of the provision was to promote new industrial undertakings with new plant and machinery, not those formed by the transfer of old/used machinery. The court concluded that the assessee did not meet the conditions of Section 80-IB as it formed an industrial undertaking by the transfer of previously used plant and machinery, thereby upholding the tribunal's decision in favor of the revenue.

In summary, the court held that the assessee's appeal lacked merit, and the tribunal did not commit any illegality in allowing the revenue's appeal. Consequently, the appeal was dismissed, affirming the decision regarding the ineligibility of the assessee for deductions under Section 80-IB of the Income Tax Act, 1961.