2012 (12) TMI 188 - AT - Income Tax

Shipping company - denial of benefit of presumptive taxation prescribed under Chapter XII-G in respect of ships chartered in by it under slot charter arrangement, for want of valid certificate defined in S115VX - Held that - Section 115VA overrides the provisions of computation of business income prescribed in sec. 28 to 43C and the income computed as per Chapter XII-G on presumptive basis shall be deemed to be the profits and gains of the business of operating qualifying ships. It is noteworthy that benefit of Chapter XII-G is available to the tonnage tax company only in respect of the income from the business of operating qualifying ships and it is necessary to show that the ships chartered in under Slot Charter arrangement are also Qualifying ships by producing the Valid certificate ? In view of aforesaid, it is held that CIT(A) was right in law in denying the benefit of presumptive taxation for want of valid certificate Decided against assessee

Issues Involved:
1. Entitlement to the benefit of presumptive taxation under Chapter XII-G for ships chartered under "slot charter" arrangement.
2. Requirement to produce a "valid certificate" for ships chartered under "slot charter" arrangement.
3. Submission of separate profit and loss account by the assessee.

Issue-wise Detailed Analysis:

1. Entitlement to the Benefit of Presumptive Taxation Under Chapter XII-G:
The core issue is whether the assessee is entitled to the benefit of presumptive taxation under Chapter XII-G of the Income Tax Act for ships chartered under a "slot charter" arrangement. The assessee argued that the "valid certificate" requirement applies only to its own ships and fully hired ships, not to ships chartered under a slot charter arrangement. The Assessing Officer (AO) and the Commissioner of Income Tax (Appeals) [CIT(A)] disagreed, denying the benefit for slot charter income and estimating the income based on the figures reported in the Profit and Loss account.

2. Requirement to Produce a "Valid Certificate":
The tribunal examined whether the assessee must produce a "valid certificate" for ships chartered under a "slot charter" arrangement. According to Section 115VX(1)(b) of the Act, a "valid certificate" indicating the ship's net tonnage is mandatory for availing the benefit of Chapter XII-G. The tribunal concluded that the benefit of Chapter XII-G can only be availed by a "tonnage tax company" in respect of the business of operating "qualifying ships." Therefore, it is necessary to show that ships chartered under "slot charter" arrangements are also "qualifying ships" by producing a "valid certificate." The tribunal emphasized that the basic condition that the ship should be a "qualifying ship" is not diluted in the scheme of "deemed tonnage."

3. Submission of Separate Profit and Loss Account:
The AO contended that the assessee failed to submit a separate profit and loss account, leading to the estimation of income. The assessee argued that it had submitted the required account. The tribunal noted that the AO computed the income from the figures reported in the Profit and Loss account, indicating no necessity for income estimation. However, the assessee did not point out any mistakes in the AO's computations for both years. In the absence of any material warranting interference, the tribunal declined to interfere with the AO's order on this issue.

Conclusion:
The tribunal upheld the CIT(A)'s decision, agreeing that the assessee must produce a "valid certificate" for ships chartered under "slot charter" arrangements to avail the benefit of Chapter XII-G. Additionally, the tribunal found no grounds to interfere with the AO's computation of income due to the lack of a separate profit and loss account. Consequently, both appeals of the assessee were dismissed.

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