2016 (5) TMI 286 - HC - Income Tax

Eligibility of deduction under Section 80IA - Held that - Having exercised its option and its losses have been set off already against other income of the business enterprise, the assessee in this appeal falls within the parameters of Section 80IA of the Income Tax Act. There appears to be no distinction on facts in relation to the decision reported in Velayudhaswamy Spinning Mills 2010 (3) TMI 860 - Madras High Court .- Decided in favour of the assessee.

Summary

Issues:
Appeal against Income-tax Appellate Tribunal's order regarding deduction under section 80-IA of the Income-tax Act for an assessment year.

Analysis:
The case involved an appeal against the order of the Income-tax Appellate Tribunal regarding the deduction under section 80-IA of the Income-tax Act for the assessment year 2006-07. The assessee had initially declared a taxable income of a certain amount, which was scrutinized, resulting in various additions to the income. The Department challenged the order of the Commissioner of Income-tax (Appeals)-II, which had allowed the appeal of the assessee regarding the disallowance under section 80-IA of the Act. The Tribunal dismissed the Department's appeal based on previous decisions of the High Court. Substantial questions of law were raised by the Department challenging the Tribunal's decision. The Department contended that the Tribunal erred in allowing the deduction under section 80-IA when there was no positive income from the industrial undertaking during the initial assessment year. The Department also argued that the Tribunal should not have followed the High Court's decision when the matter was pending before the Supreme Court. The Department raised various grounds against the Tribunal's decision, citing legal provisions and precedents.

The respondent, on the other hand, supported the Tribunal's decision, citing previous judgments that were in favor of the assessee. The respondent argued that the decision in Velayudhaswamy Spinning Mills case applied to the present case and that a similar decision had been rendered by a Division Bench of the High Court in another case. The respondent contended that the appeal by the Revenue lacked merit and should be dismissed. The High Court heard arguments from both parties and examined the records before it. The court noted that the facts and circumstances of the present appeal were similar to cases previously decided by the High Court. Referring to past judgments, including the Velayudhaswamy Spinning Mills case, the court found in favor of the assessee and dismissed the Revenue's appeal. The court upheld the Tribunal's order and answered the questions of law against the Revenue and in favor of the assessee. Consequently, the tax case appeal was dismissed.