2018 (6) TMI 51 - AT - Income Tax

Denial of claim of deduction u/s 10B - eligibility as busniss income - incomes on account of duty drawback, exchange rate fluctuation and sales tax refund - Held that - Pertinently, in so far as the incomes on account of duty drawback, exchange rate fluctuation and sales tax refund are concerned, there is no dispute that the same has been treated by the Assessing Officer as business income . The said aspect is clearly emerging from the assessment order. Thus as AO accepts the aforesaid three elements of income as forming part of the business income of the assessee s eligible undertaking, the same cannot be excluded for the purpose of computing deduction under section 10B of the Act. SEE Maral Overseas Ltd. v. Addl. CIT 2012 (4) TMI 345 - ITAT INDORE In so far as the amount of other income is concerned, the same has been assessed as income from other sources and there is no material before us to distract from the same. Therefore, the said element of income, in our view, is not entitled for claim of deduction under section 10B of the Act. - Decided partly in favour of assessee

Summary

Issues:
1. Dispute over denial of deduction under section 10B of the Income-tax Act.

Analysis:
1. The appeal concerns the denial of a deduction under section 10B of the Income-tax Act for specific components of income. The appellant, engaged in the manufacture and export of various products, claimed the deduction but faced opposition from the Assessing Officer and the Commissioner of Income-tax (Appeals) regarding certain income elements totaling Rs. 51,53,689.

2. The Assessing Officer excluded the aforementioned income components from the deduction under section 10B, contending that they were not related to exports. However, the appellant argued that as these incomes were treated as business incomes by the Assessing Officer, they should be eligible for the deduction under section 10B based on the decision of the Special Bench of the Tribunal and the judgment of the Delhi High Court in similar cases.

3. The Tribunal noted that the incomes from duty drawback, exchange rate fluctuation, and sales tax refund were indeed considered as business incomes by the Assessing Officer. Citing the Special Bench's decision, the Tribunal emphasized that once an income is part of the business of the eligible undertaking, it cannot be excluded from eligible profits for computing the deduction under section 10B. Consequently, the Tribunal directed the Assessing Officer to recompute the deduction by including these income elements.

4. However, the Tribunal found that the other income of Rs. 2,77,382, assessed as "income from other sources," was not entitled to the deduction under section 10B. Therefore, this particular income component was excluded from the deduction calculation.

5. Ultimately, the Tribunal partially allowed the appellant's appeal, directing the Assessing Officer to recalculate the deduction under section 10B by including the incomes from duty drawback, exchange rate fluctuation, and sales tax refund, while excluding the income categorized as "income from other sources." The decision was pronounced in the presence of both parties at the conclusion of the hearing.